Two prosecution witnesses in the trial against Mir Kashem have claimed that the Jamaat leader was the leader of al-Badr, an auxiliary force of Pakistan army during the Liberation War.
Prosecution’s witness number seven, Pradip Talukder, told the International Crime Tribunal 2 that the accused led al-Badr activists to abduct his uncle Tuntu Sen, who was later killed after being tortured at the Dalim Hotel during the war. Although Tuntu managed to escape once, he was never seen again after the al-Badr forces captured him the second time, Pradip said.
During his deposition, the witness said al-Badr members abducted Tuntu Sen from the Shib temple in Hazari Lane and took him to the nearby Dalim Hotel. Quoting his grandmother, he said his uncle was tortured to death there.
Prosecution’s witness number six, Mridul Kumar Dey from Hazari Lane, also described the forced deportation of at least 250 families, most of whom were forced to flee to India while others went into hiding inside the country.
After their deposition, Defence Counsel Mizanul Islam cross-examined them, while the tribunal also set Sunday for hearing further witnesses.
Mridul told the tribunal that his neighbours Tuntu Sen and Ranjit Das were both abducted and confined by al-Badr before being tortured to death at the Dalim Hotel. Mridul also said he went to the hotel after the war, where he met Prova Rani Das, wife of Ranjit, who could not find any trace of her husband.
He said other detainees at the hotel informed Prova that her husband had been killed by the order of Mir Kashem.
Kashem, who is facing 14 charges for committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War, was produced before the tribunal during the deposition.
The defence claimed that both the witnesses had given false depositions. When asked about Mir Kashem, Mridul answered he could not recall any information that was related with Mir Kashem.
In response to a question from the defence on whether he gave his correct house address to the tribunal, Mridul said the holding number has now changed. He also admitted of flashing for the first time before the tribunal about his meeting with Prova Rani at the Dalim Hotel after victory.
Meanwhile, the ICT 2 yesterday also began hearing a petition seeking a ruling as to why a show-cause notice should not be issued against David Bergman, a journalist from a Dhaka daily, for making “derogatory” comments about the tribunal in a blog. The tribunal adjourned the proceeding until Thursday (today), when the petitioner – High Court Lawyer Abul Kalam Azad – might give his submission and the ICT 2 might decide on the issue.