In 1971, the abandoned buildings near the Rasulpur Railway Station in Comilla were used as camps of the Pakistan army where pro-liberation men and women were gathered, tortured and killed.
At the fag end of the war, the military -- assisted by their local collaborators -- raided some nearby villages, including Rasulpur, Baleshwar, Banasuya, Payat, Bharsar Bazar and Shimrai, and seized over 500 men and women.
Two Freedom Fighters, Nazir Ahmed of Rasulpur and Abdus Samad of Shimrai, narrated to Dhaka Tribune the extent of torture these people had undergone at Rasulpur: women were forced to remove clothes and beaten up. Then everyone was lined up and told that they would be killed after a while. But before that, they would have to dig their own graves.
At the time, the Bangalees were tortured to force them to dig the graves. Then they were shot dead one after another. Some of them were forced to shoot other Bangalees.
Dhaka TribuneThen all the bodies were dumped at this place, which was later known as the Rasulpur Slaughterhouse, under Amratali Union of Adarsha Sadar. It is located five and a half kilometres from Comilla district town.
During a recent visit to the historic place, the Dhaka Tribune correspondent found that the killing ground of the Liberation War had an incomplete monument and had been left abandoned without any plaque to remind people of the atrocities perpetrated there. There is no sign of the butchery that had taken place 52 years ago.
There is no boundary wall around the place, and dust was seen everywhere. Some locals are tying their cattle at the place. Some lampposts are there but left dysfunctional. It is difficult to enter it due to the stench of faeces and urine. Due to neglect, it is also difficult to understand whether it has a guardian.
Rashedul Karim, executive engineer of the District Public Works Department, said that he did not have any information about the slaughterhouse at the moment.
Shafiur Alam Babul, the former commander of the District Muktijoddha Sangsad, said that once they used to hold programs on Independence Day and Victory Day there.
“But it has become an abandoned place due to carelessness for the last 10-12 years. We did not have any budget for maintenance of the slaughterhouse,” he told Dhaka Tribune.
Incomplete monument
After liberation, no initiative was taken to commemorate the brutality unleashed on the Bangalees of this area. In response to the demands of Freedom Fighters and local residents, a monument was constructed in 2005.
In the first few years, many events were held at this place on the initiative of various social organizations, political parties and educational institutions, especially around various national days, Rafiqul Islam Chowdhury of the area said.
But the place lost its importance with the passage of time. Due to a lack of maintenance for over a decade, there is no boundary wall, no informational plaques, or a flag hoisting altar. The signboard carries signs of negligence.
Due to a lack of lights, it becomes a safe haven for drug peddlers and gamblers in the evening, locals say. People who visit the railway station to buy phensidyl, brought from the Jambari border with India, would gather here every day.
There is fear that future generations may not know anything about the sacrifices of the hundreds of people if the place is not preserved, said Rokeya Begum Shefali, president of Sanak Comilla Conscious Citizens Committee.
Burichong Sonar Bangla College principal and educationist Abu Salek Md Salim Reza Sourav said: “Once we used to go there with the students on various state days and pay our respects to the martyrs. But it is not understandable why it fell into disrepair over the last decade. There is no atmosphere to go there now.”
New initiatives
In the face of the demands of the Liberation War activists and local residents, the district administration has taken the initiative to preserve the place after a long time. The budget has already been approved by the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs. The administration said that renovation work will start soon.
Adarsha Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Kaniz Fatema acknowledged the poor condition of the slaughterhouse, but said various steps had been taken to preserve it.
“A project has been taken up for some preliminary works, including installation of lights, construction of boundary wall and maintenance,” she added.
Comilla Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Shamim Alam expressed a similar view. He said: “Initiatives have been taken to preserve and renovate all the historic places of the Liberation War in the district.”