Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee, a forum campaigning for a secular Bangladesh and trials of the war criminals of 1971, has demanded a judicial inquiry into the inclusion of the names of freedom fighters in the list of Razakars.
Shahriar Kabir, president of the forum, came up with the demand at a press conference at the Dhaka Reporters' Unity (DRU) in the capital on Thursday.
"There is no way in which the names of freedom fighters or members of martyrs' families can be included in the list of collaborators. It is not a mistake, but rather a grave offence.
"Key Razakars or the names of anti-liberation individuals might get excluded from such a list unconsciously, but a blunder like placing freedom fighters’ names in the Razakar list should not have been made, given that it is a sensitive issue," he said.
He added: "A judicial probe committee is necessary to investigate such a serious crime."
Vice presidents of the forum Prof Muntasir Mamun and Shyamoli Nasrin Chowdhury, and its general secretary Kazi Mukul were present, among others, at the press conference.
On Wednesday, the government withdrew the recently published "infamous" list of Razakars, after it was severely condemned by all quarters for containing the names of freedom fighters and pro-liberation individuals.
"We have withdrawn the list and will publish a new and complete list on March 26, 2020," Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Huq said.
Liberation War Affairs Secretary SM Arif-ur-Rahman told Dhaka Tribune: "The list of Razakars was published without any scrutiny. It will be published again after scrutiny."
The move came within hours of Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader telling reporters that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had instructed the ministries concerned to revise the entire list and make the necessary corrections.