Nearly four decades after seven members of a family were killed over a land dispute, the Nidarabad massacre remains one of the darkest chapters in Brahmanbaria’s history. The 1987 murder of Shashanka Debnath was followed by the killing of his wife, Birajabala, and their five children in September 1989.
The six victims’ dismembered bodies were packed with lime and salt in two iron drums and dumped in Dhupajuri Beel. A foul-smelling, oily substance on the water led to their discovery. Shashanka’s body, however, has never been recovered.
Shashanka was abducted and murdered on October 16, 1987. Nearly two years later, on September 6, 1989, his wife and children were killed at their home in Nidarabad village, then under Harashpur Union of Nasirnagar upazila and now part of Bijoynagar upazila.
Land dispute turns deadly
Shashanka, a poor Hindu man, disappeared amid a dispute over ownership of his land and homestead. Tajul Islam, a butcher from a neighbouring village, and others claimed he had sold them the property before leaving for India.
After Shashanka went missing, Birajabala filed a police complaint over his disappearance and alleged fraud involving the land. She reportedly faced repeated threats to withdraw the complaint.
According to Tajul’s judicial confession, he and his son-in-law, Inu Miah, took Shashanka from his home, claiming that his son-in-law, Mona Debnath, was waiting near the Indian border. They brought him to a house in Nijnagar village of Madhabpur, where they said they would wait until midnight before attempting to cross the border.
Tajul confessed that he, Inu, Ajid and two other men strangled Shashanka with a gamchha, or traditional cotton towel. Ajid and the two unidentified men later took the body to Chehria village in India and dumped it in a well at an abandoned refugee camp.
Wife and five children killed
With the land dispute unresolved, Birajabala continued pursuing the case, putting herself and her children at risk.
Tajul said he planned the killings with Abdul Hossain and Habib of Bagdia village. The victims were Birajabala and her children Niyatibala, 17, Subhas, 14, Pranatibala, 10, Suprasanna Debnath Suman, 5, and Sujan, 2.
According to the confession, Tajul promised Abdul Hossain Tk30,000 for his role, although the initial agreement was Tk20,000. The money was deposited with Momin, another resident of Bagdia.
The conspirators arranged a motorised boat, two iron drums, salt and about 75kg of lime. On the night of September 5, 1989, they travelled by boat to Shashanka’s house.
After an accomplice bent the bars of a rear window and entered the house, the attackers took the sleeping family from their room and transported them to Dhupajuri Beel.
Tajul described how the victims were killed one by one. Their bodies were dismembered and placed in the drums, which were filled with lime and salt, sealed and submerged in the water. The perpetrators also washed bloodstains from the boat.
Teacher’s discovery exposes massacre
Four days after the family disappeared, schoolteacher Abul Mobarak noticed a foul-smelling, oily substance floating on Dhupajuri Beel while returning home by boat.
Suspicious, he asked the boatman to investigate. The boat struck something underwater, and the boatman eventually pulled out a sealed iron drum.
Mobarak alerted local union parishad representatives and prominent residents. When they opened the drum, they found three bodies. A search of the area led to a second drum containing three more.
Shashanka’s daughter, Sunitibala Debnath, survived because she was living at her in-laws’ house.
The discovery shocked the community, leaving residents grieving and fearful while fuelling demands for justice.
Nine sentenced to death
Investigators identified Tajul as the mastermind. His judicial confession detailed the planning and execution of the killings.
Nine people were sentenced to death, while 27 others received life imprisonment and two were acquitted. Tajul and another convict, Badsha, were later executed by hanging.
Local residents recalled the public anger following Tajul’s execution, saying an enraged crowd spat on his body and threw shoes at it as it was taken out of prison. Some households reportedly distributed sweets.
Journalists recall fear
Senior journalists Mohammad Arzu, Syed Mohammad Akram and Dipak Chowdhury Bappi, who covered the massacre, recalled the challenges of reporting from Nidarabad. Travelling from Brahmanbaria town involved difficult routes, sometimes requiring rickshaws and long stretches on foot.
Reporters had to return to town after gathering information and send their reports to Dhaka newspapers by telegram or through messengers. They remember the fear and anger that gripped residents as the investigation unfolded.
The massacre later inspired the film Kande Nidarabad (Nidarabad Weeps), according to local sources.