The second prosecution witness in the war crimes case against Jamaat Nayeb-e-Ameer Maulana Abdus Subhan yesterday testified before the ICT 2, who claimed that he witnessed the death of his father at the hands of the accused.
Tohurul Alam Mollah, son of martyr Moazzem Hossain, said his family fled their house when the Pakistani army entered Ishwardi, but Moazzem stayed behind in the central mosque with his brother Habibur Rahman and nephew Nazmul Huq Khan.
The defence counsels began cross-examining Tohurul before the tribunal adjourned proceedings for the day.
In his deposition, Tohurul said: “On April 12 [in 1971], I started for the central mosque, but on my way an anonymous person stopped me to say Jamaat leader Khoda Box had established a torture cell just outside the mosque and was killing people who were in favour the country’s independence.
“After that, my friend Fozlur Rahman Fantu and I discussed about the possibility of rescuing my father and other relatives. On April 17, we again started for the mosque. We saw Motiur Rahman Nizami and Abdus Subhan when we reached there. Under Subhan’s order, his accomplice dragged my father to a coal depot near the mosque and hit my father with a sword before his cohorts chopped him up,” Tohurul testified.
Earlier, the first prosecution witness AKM Shohiduzzaman Nasim, the then secretary of Bangladesh Student Union of Pabna’s Ishwardi and a cousin of Tohurul, told the tribunal that he saw Subhan kill three of his family members.
Tohurul – who was also a witness in the case against Jamaat leader Motiur Rahman Nizami - yesterday said he saw the incidents while hiding in a nearby bush, while his cousin – AKM Shahiduzzaman Nasim – also witnessed the murder of Tohurul’s father while hiding in a separate bush.
Tohurul later trained as a freedom fighter after crossing into India through the Jalangi border, and later returned to the country in mid-June with a team of 56 freedom fighters. It was then that he heard that Subhan had been carrying atrocities with his cohorts after creating Razkar, al-Badr and al-Shams groups in all thanas in Pabna, Tohurul said.
On December 31 last year, the ICT 1 indicted Subhan on nine charges of crimes against humanity; but on March 27, the case was transferred to the ICT 2.
Meanwhile, in the war crimes case against Mir Kashem Ali, defence counsel Mizanul Islam cross-examined the investigation officer of the trial for half an hour, before the tribunal adjourned the proceedings until Wednesday as the defence counsel was not physically fit.
During cross-examination, the defence asked the IO about the process and duration of his investigation. Asked if he had collected any news report on Dalim Hotel, the officer said he could not remember the issue.
Kashem, facing 14 charges for committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971, was produced at the tribunal during the deposition.