A witness on Monday said he saw former BNP minister Abdul Alim order the killing of a bunch of Hindus sometime in May 1971.
The first prosecution witness against this former Muslim League leader, 71-year old Abdul Momen said he had also seen Alim addressing a 500-strong rally of Razakars and Peace Committee members and tell them to 'loot the belongings of Hindus'.
The second war crimes tribunal, set up to expedite trials of crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War, saw the witness identify Alim as an active collaborator of Pakistan Army.
The witness, himself a former leader of the ruling Awami League's student wing, said Abdul Alim, who had joined the Convention Muslim League, and Abbas Ali Khan of Jamaat-e-Islami had lost the 1970 national elections against the Awami League candidate Dr Mafiz Chowdhury.
Abdul Alim's faction of Muslim League, of which he was the Joypurhat head, was led by former Pakistan National Assembly Speaker Fazlul Quader Chowdhury. Fazlul Quader's son Salauddin Quader is also behind bars on war crimes charges and was indicted for 23 charges on Apr 4 by the International Crimes Tribunal-1.
The three-judge International Crimes Tribunal-2 chaired by Justice A T M Fazle Kabir indicted Alim on 17 war crimes charges on Jun 11. He is alleged to have been involved in the murder of 585 people in 1971.
A few days before the Eid-ul-Fitr in 1971, Abdul Momen told the court, he saw Abdul Alim address a large rally of collaborators. "At first he translated for one Major Afzal."
Major Afzal, according to the charges, was the Pakistani officer for whom Alim had made arrangements in Joypurhat. Alim had also taken over the office of one Saonlal Bajla, a jute trader, and turned it into the office of the local Joypurhat Peace Committee. He was also involved with forming the local Razakar unit.
These vigilante outfits, along with the Al Badr and Al Shams militia, were involved with a large number of crimes against humanity and responsible for widespread atrocities in their effort to thwart the liberation movement.
The witness said Abdul Alim had told his audience on that day that they would have the next Eid congregation at the famous Garher Math in Kolkata. Momen also remembered the accused telling his followers, "Loot the belongings of Hindus."
When asked by the conducting prosecutor, Rana Dasgupta, the witness said he had stood about 30 or 40 yards away from the rally at a village under Khetlal Upazila.
Abdul Momen then went on that a few days later when he had visited the house of a Hindu acquaintance around the same place, he heard them saying that the Pakistan Army personnel, along with the collaborators belonging to Razakar and Peace Committee, had surrounded the Hindu neighbourhood.
Momen named several other Hindu acquaintances who had been detained from there and taken to the local Peace Committee office where they were tortured. "Then they were taken to the Joypurhat office."
It was here that Abdul Alim was present and came out to meet the prisoners. The witness said he followed the group the entire time and watched what happened since he knew them. Alim apparently ordered that the Hindus be murdered.
"They were then taken to the Khanjanpur Kuthibari riverbank where they were shot and buried."
Although the prosecutor asked him a number of times, the witness said he could not remember the specific time but it was most likely May.
This was followed by cross-examination by Abu Eusuf Mohammad Khalilur Rahman, a newly appointed defence counsel to handle Alim's trial.
The counsel's petition for a four-week adjournment at the start of the proceedings was brushed off by the tribunal before the witness deposition began.
But before he could begin cross-examination, the witness told the court that the defence counsel had been arrested and jailed along with Abdul Alim under the Collaborators Act soon after the Liberation War. "As such he should not have taken charge to conduct this trial."
The tribunal said that anyone Abdul Alim chose could represent him and had nothing to do with what had happened before.
The cross-examination remains incomplete and will resume on Aug 27.
Abdul Alim is the only one accused of war crimes who is out on bail.
The first prosecution witness against this former Muslim League leader, 71-year old Abdul Momen said he had also seen Alim addressing a 500-strong rally of Razakars and Peace Committee members and tell them to 'loot the belongings of Hindus'.
The second war crimes tribunal, set up to expedite trials of crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War, saw the witness identify Alim as an active collaborator of Pakistan Army.
The witness, himself a former leader of the ruling Awami League's student wing, said Abdul Alim, who had joined the Convention Muslim League, and Abbas Ali Khan of Jamaat-e-Islami had lost the 1970 national elections against the Awami League candidate Dr Mafiz Chowdhury.
Abdul Alim's faction of Muslim League, of which he was the Joypurhat head, was led by former Pakistan National Assembly Speaker Fazlul Quader Chowdhury. Fazlul Quader's son Salauddin Quader is also behind bars on war crimes charges and was indicted for 23 charges on Apr 4 by the International Crimes Tribunal-1.
The three-judge International Crimes Tribunal-2 chaired by Justice A T M Fazle Kabir indicted Alim on 17 war crimes charges on Jun 11. He is alleged to have been involved in the murder of 585 people in 1971.
A few days before the Eid-ul-Fitr in 1971, Abdul Momen told the court, he saw Abdul Alim address a large rally of collaborators. "At first he translated for one Major Afzal."
Major Afzal, according to the charges, was the Pakistani officer for whom Alim had made arrangements in Joypurhat. Alim had also taken over the office of one Saonlal Bajla, a jute trader, and turned it into the office of the local Joypurhat Peace Committee. He was also involved with forming the local Razakar unit.
These vigilante outfits, along with the Al Badr and Al Shams militia, were involved with a large number of crimes against humanity and responsible for widespread atrocities in their effort to thwart the liberation movement.
The witness said Abdul Alim had told his audience on that day that they would have the next Eid congregation at the famous Garher Math in Kolkata. Momen also remembered the accused telling his followers, "Loot the belongings of Hindus."
When asked by the conducting prosecutor, Rana Dasgupta, the witness said he had stood about 30 or 40 yards away from the rally at a village under Khetlal Upazila.
Abdul Momen then went on that a few days later when he had visited the house of a Hindu acquaintance around the same place, he heard them saying that the Pakistan Army personnel, along with the collaborators belonging to Razakar and Peace Committee, had surrounded the Hindu neighbourhood.
Momen named several other Hindu acquaintances who had been detained from there and taken to the local Peace Committee office where they were tortured. "Then they were taken to the Joypurhat office."
It was here that Abdul Alim was present and came out to meet the prisoners. The witness said he followed the group the entire time and watched what happened since he knew them. Alim apparently ordered that the Hindus be murdered.
"They were then taken to the Khanjanpur Kuthibari riverbank where they were shot and buried."
Although the prosecutor asked him a number of times, the witness said he could not remember the specific time but it was most likely May.
This was followed by cross-examination by Abu Eusuf Mohammad Khalilur Rahman, a newly appointed defence counsel to handle Alim's trial.
The counsel's petition for a four-week adjournment at the start of the proceedings was brushed off by the tribunal before the witness deposition began.
But before he could begin cross-examination, the witness told the court that the defence counsel had been arrested and jailed along with Abdul Alim under the Collaborators Act soon after the Liberation War. "As such he should not have taken charge to conduct this trial."
The tribunal said that anyone Abdul Alim chose could represent him and had nothing to do with what had happened before.
The cross-examination remains incomplete and will resume on Aug 27.
Abdul Alim is the only one accused of war crimes who is out on bail.
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