Investigators: Maqbul a war criminal

War crimes investigators say they have evidence that Jamaat-e-Islami chief Maqbul Ahmad perpetrated crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War. “Our investigation against Maqbul has made headway but we’re yet to wrap it up,” Hannan Khan, coordinator of the war crimes tribunal’s investigation agency, said at a media briefing yesterday. “The evidence we’ve gathered so far makes it clear that he was a Razakar,” Hannan said, reports Bangla Tribune. He clarified that they recently got complaints against Maqbul. “We started investigating him based on a report run by an online newspaper.” Hannan said the investigation is at the primary stage, adding that they would decide later whether to charge the Jamaat chief with war crimes. Jamaat-e-Islami openly opposed Bangladesh’s independence and formed auxiliary forces like Al-Badr and Razakar to help the occupying Pakistan army carry out genocide on Bangalees. An estimated three million people were killed in the war and millions of others forced to seek refuge in India. The government put war crime suspects on trial after forming the International Crimes Tribunal in 2010. Most of the war crime convicts belong to Jamaat. Maqbul was named the party’s Ameer after its former chief, also Al-Badr commander, Motiur Rahman Nizami was executed in May this year. There are a number of allegations against Maqbul. Feni freedom fighter’s commander Meer Abdul Hannan claimed Maqbul headed the district’s Razakar unit during the war. He allegedly ordered the killing of East Pakistan Chhatra Union leader and freedom fighter, Maulana Waz Uddin. Local freedom fighter commander Shariatullah Bangali claimed Hindu households were torched and 10 Hindus were burned to death in Lalpur village under the upazila’s Joylaskar Union on Maqbul’s order. He alleged that the Jamaat leader had also ordered the killing of freedom fighter Ahsan Ullah. Investigators went to Feni to investigate war crime charges against Maqbul at the tribunal’s order. Maqbul hails from Omarabad village under Purbachandrapur union in Dagonbhuiyan upazila. He became a full-time politician after retiring from Feni Model High School. He reportedly has not visited his village home after the Awami League took over the government. Maqbul had been Jamaat’s acting chief for nearly six years since Nizami’s arrest. Meanwhile Jamaat-e-Islami in a press statement yesterday evening said the claims of war crimes allegation found against Maqbul is untrue. Nayab-e-Amir Mujibur Rahman said: “The chief of Jamaat Maqbul Ahmed was not a Razakar member or commander, or affiliated with the Peace Committees in 1971.” “In 1971, Maqbul Ahmed was teaching at a prestigious high school in Feni. “Allegations against him of masterminding the murders of people including a freedom fighter are untrue. “I request the authorities concerned to refrain from presenting baseless accusations to harass Maqbul Ahmed for political gain,” he added.Evidence found against three suspected war criminalsThe investigation wing of International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) at the same press briefing also revealed they have found evidence of war crimes against three persons from Moulvibazar, Sylhet. The accused are Abdul Aziz alias Abul, 64, Abdul Matin, 63, and Abdul Mannan alias Monai, 64. Aziz and Mannan were arrested on March 2 and are in jail. Matin is a fugitive. Aziz was involved in politics with the BNP and Matin with Jamaat. They have been accused of murder, torture, rape, looting, torching houses and act of genocide in Borolekha, Moulvibazar. Five charges have been levied against them. The first charge is of killing three Hindu men including National Awami Party leader Harendra Lal Das after torturing them for three days at a Razakar camp in Barolekha and also physically torturing another Hindu man. The second charge is of holding a woman captive for over a month and repeatedly raping he at two razakars’ camp. The third charge is of abduction and torture of local freedom fighters and looting their house. The fourth charge is also of abduction and torture of a brother of another freedom fighter and looting his house. The fifth and final charge against the trio is of the abduction and torture of a freedom fighter and raping his wife. The investigators found that Aziz and Matin initially trained to fight against Pakistan in India but after returning to Bangladesh they surrendered to Pakistani army in Barolekha and joined the Razakar force. In 1971, Mannan was with Islami Chhatra Sangha, the student wing of anti liberation Jamaat and joined peace committee and the Razakar force.