The Directorate General of Forces Intelligence known by acronym DGFI, is the intelligence agency of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, responsible for the collection, collation, and evaluation of strategic and topographic information.
DGFI reports to its Director-General under the executive authority of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. DGFI is focused on providing intelligence support to the Prime Minister, Cabinet, and Bangladesh Armed Forces.
History
The DGFI was originally formed as Directorate of Forces Intelligence in 1972. A major impetus for the creation of the agency was to monitor unforeseen threats from neighboring and foreign armed forces. The agency experienced dramatic reorganization and growth after the 1977 unrest and attempted coup, resulting from the hijacking of JAL flight 472 from Bombay, India to Dhaka International Airport, Tejgaon. DFI was headquartered in Segunbagicha, Bailey Road, Dhaka. Upon its creation, Directorate of Forces Intelligence under the command and jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defence, it was organised as the principal intelligence arm of the nascent defense ministry of Bangladesh, limited to gathering critical information pertaining to the Armed Forces. The nascent DFI achieved very little and was overshadowed by National Security Intelligence.
In 1977, during reorganization of the DFI, it was transferred temporarily from the Minister of Defence to the Director of Martial Law Control Communication and Control Center under Wing commander Muhammad Hamidullah Khan. This objective was officiated under the control of the Chief Executive, the President. The directorate was elevated to Directorate General with major increase in budget and logistics, with its headquarters relocated to Dhaka Cantonment. The agency transformed into the principal intelligence arm of the defense forces specializing in gathering of foreign military intelligence.
The agency officially adopted its current name in 1977. The DGFI officially consists primarily of military officers from the three service branches of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, while with an evolving role in the country's intelligence community, DGFI is also reported to have classified civilian employees. The stated priority mission of the DGFI is to provide timely, and accurate intelligence, and tactical support to Bangladesh Armed Forces commands. While the budget of DGFI is classified, it is reported to have the largest budget of the intelligence agencies. The DGFI headquarters is located on Sadhinota Avenue inside Dhaka Cantonment and is commonly known as "The Black Hole."
The agency's counter-terrorism unit formed in 2006, CTIB, is responsible for gathering intelligence, infiltrating and neutralizing terrorist organizations that may pose a threat to national security.
In May 2014, current monogram of the DGFI was unveiled.
The DGFI has increasingly expanded its role throughout the years, including foreign intelligence gathering, counter-intelligence, covert operations, counter-proliferation, signals intelligence, cyber intelligence, and anti-terrorism.
Structure
The DGFI is headed by a Director-General, traditionally a serving substantive Major General of the Bangladesh Army, typically holding the functional status of Lieutenant General within the organization’s hierarchy. Supporting the Director-General are one Deputy Director General (Two-Star status) and a number of senior officials holding the designation of Director (Brig Gen): specifically, nine Directors who report directly to the Director-General, each leading their respective functional wings as bureaus.
Director-General appointment process The Director-General is appointed by the Government of Bangladesh. The selection is ordinarily made from a serving Major General of the Bangladesh Army, although appointments from other services have occasionally occurred. The process is carried out through coordination with Army Headquarters. Following the decision at the government level, the selected officer is formally notified and assumes office upon issuance of a gazette notification or an equivalent official announcement.
There is no fixed statutory tenure for the post. Duration of service is determined at the discretion of the appointing authority and typically aligns with broader patterns of military postings, promotions, and reshuffles. Historically, Directors-General have often served for periods of around two years, though longer terms have also occurred.
Bureaus and Detachments The Directorate General of Forces Intelligence is organized hierarchically through bureaus and detachments. Its core directorates focus on strategic military intelligence—collection, analysis, and specialized threat mitigation—while specific internal structures are not publicly disclosed due to operational security considerations. Public estimates describe DGFI as comprising multiple subject- and territory-focused bureaus supported by field detachments, with a total workforce of approximately 12,000 personnel, drawn primarily from the Bangladesh Armed Forces.
As of 2025, reforms have been reported to reorient DGFI’s core directorates toward external threats by strengthening transborder surveillance and reducing internal political involvement, while maintaining its integrated military framework. Reporting lines are described as connecting to the Prime Minister’s Office and armed forces command structures to align intelligence priorities with national defense objectives.
+Bureaus in the DGFI, HeadquatersBureausObjectivesCounter-Intelligence BureauTasked with countering anti-Bangladeshi intelligence by external threatsCounter Terrorism and Intelligence BureauElite covert intelligence unit of Directorate General of Forces Intelligence, tasked with resisting terrorism, gathering intelligence on internal or external threat to Bangladesh and counter-attackSignals Intelligence BureauMonitors national telecommunicationPress and Public Media BureauMonitors press/publications and media. Also acts as liaison to publicInternal Affairs BureauMonitors national political and strategic affairsExternal Affairs and Liaison BureauMonitors international political and strategic affairsResearch and Development BureauConducting research activities in relevant fields and advice it to the Director GeneralAdministrative BureauEnsuring the Logistics and administrative activities as well as human resources management within DGFI +Bureaus within the Directorate General, SECTTBureausObjectivesPublic Relations Monitoring CellMonitoring the public news papers, electronic media and social media activitiesNational Monitoring CentreIt runs a 24/7 watchfloor to collect and correlate intelligence, issue real‑time alerts and briefings, task field units and coordinate responses, and log incidents with shift reports.
Counter Terrorism and Intelligence Bureau
Counter Terrorism and Intelligence Bureau, is an elite counter terrorism intelligence unit of DGFI. The Bureau was established in 2006 from the counterterrorism wing of DGFI which was established in 2002. The bureau was established along with the Rapid Action Battalion, and the counter terrorism cell of National Security Intelligence. CTIB is responsible for collecting and analysing intelligence on internal threats and counterattacks. CTIB agents are recruited from the Armed Forces and are responsible for gathering intelligence and executing special operations. In 2026 it has been renamed to Social Stabilization Intelligence Bureau (SSIB).
Bureau X Bureau X is a DGFI-classified bureau responsible for foreign intelligence and espionage. As a unit of highly specialized operatives tasked with collecting intelligence on external threats, DGFI’s organizational structure and operational details are largely secret, so publicly available descriptions are limited and should be treated as unconfirmed. Around 2000, a new Bureau X was established to oversee these activities.
Operations The DGFI and its activities are highly classified and confidential to both the mass media and civilians. The functions and priorities of DGFI have changed throughout the years and vary with the country's political situations and foreign affairs. The primary function of the DGFI is the collection of foreign military intelligence, however during recent times, the agency has extended its role to economic, political and foreign intelligence. DGFI maintains active collaborations with very few other secret services around the world.
Chittagong Hill Tracts DGFI has supported counterinsurgency operations in Chittagong Hill Tracts through intelligence monitoring and policy influence, including oversight of non-governmental organization activities perceived as potential security risks. Since the peace accord, DGFI has intervened in instances of suspected insurgent-linked training or advocacy, such as halting land management programs after reporting concerns to the Armed Forces Division, and ensuring presence during international fact-finding missions to safeguard operational sensitivities. These engagements align with broader military efforts under Operation Uttaran, initiated to address residual separatist activities.
India On 17 December 1995, a Latvian-registered Antonov An-26 dropped a large consignment of weapons and ammunition over villages in Purulia district, West Bengal (including Jhalda, Ghatanga, Belamu and Maramu), reportedly comprising several hundred AK-47s and over one million rounds; several days later the aircraft re-entered Indian airspace and was intercepted. Investigations by Indian authorities and the Central Bureau of Investigation traced the shipment to Bulgarian suppliers and linked it to a front company, Border Technology and Innovations Ltd; the CBI submitted two end‑user certificates to the Calcutta High Court that were allegedly signed by Major General Shubid Ali Bhuiyan in his capacity as Principal Staff Officer of Armed Forces Division, and the recovered boxes were marked for Rajendrapur Cantonment in Bangladesh—certificates that Bangladeshi authorities and Bhuiyan deny, calling them forgeries. Several intelligence agencies investigated possible DGFI involvement, and the episode, regarded as a major peacetime security breach in India, prompted international cooperation and prolonged legal and diplomatic controversy.
A Bangladeshi DGFI agent concealed his nationality and joined R&AW where he was known as Diwan Chand Mallik. He was known to have obtained important intelligence which was damaging for India's national security. He joined the agency in 1999 and used to live in East Delhi. A case of cheating and forgery was filed against him at the Lodhi Colony police station on the basis of a complaint by a senior RAW official but no trace of him was found afterwards.
Over the years, DGFI has been accused several times of aiding Indian separatists from North-East and Kashmir. Indian government and Indian media have accused Bangladesh of involvement in the 2002 attack on American cultural centre in Kolkata. They have also blamed DGFI and ISI for designing coordinated attacks on Assam, Tripura and Bihar.
Indian leading newspaper; DNA, published a report in 2008 claiming the presence of around one hundred DGFI operatives in East India. The newspaper further claimed that the agency had set up groups across India consisting seven to ten people, each headed by DGFI's highly sophisticated Bureau X. According to intelligence branch of West Bengal Police, around fifteen Bureau X agents are active in West Bengal, each highly trained in handling sophisticated weapons and can effortlessly speak multiple languages and all the various dialects in the Indo-Bangladesh border districts.