Infamous razakar leaders Obaidul Haq Taher and Ataur Rahman Noni of Netrokona have been sentenced to death for committing crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War.
A three-member Tribunal 1 headed by Justice Anwarul Haque pronounced the verdict on Tuesday afternoon.
Four of the six charges brought against them were proved beyond doubt. The duo were awarded death penalty on two charges and imprisonment until death on two others. The court acquitted them on the two other charges.
The court said the government can execute them either by hanging them by the neck or by a firing squad.
Taher and Noni joined the local Razakar Bahini, an auxiliary force of the Pakistani occupation army, and were notorious for the atrocities committed in various parts of Netrokona including the sadar upazila and Barhatta, mainly against the local Hindus. Taher was the commander of the local razakar unit.
CHARGES
Razakar commander Taher and his accomplice Nani accompanied by other accomplices and the Pakistan army on August 17, 1971, attacked Baushi Bazar under Barhatta Police Station and looted valuables from 400-450 shops and 20-25 houses of the Hindus. They detained and tortured up to eight people, including local Awami League leader Fazlur Rahman. All but Fazlur were released. Taher, Nani and their accomplices took Fazlur to Trimohoni Bridge and shot him dead. Razakars under the leadership of Taher on October 4, 1971, caught footballer Dabir Hossain at Sree Sree Narosingh Jeur Akhra and took him to Zilla Parishad Bungalow where he was tortured. He was later shot dead near Moktarpara Bridge in Netrakona town. They accompanied by other accomplices and the Pakistan soldiers attacked Laufa village under Barhatta Police Station around 2:30pm on October 19, 1971, and detained 10 people. Seven of them were later shot dead while one survived with bullet injuries and two were freed. Their accomplices also raped several women. In May, 1971 the accused occupied one Moloy Biswas' home at Moktarpara and set up a razakar camp. The house owner later left Bangladesh for India fearing his life. They also forcibly occupied the house of Sirish Chandra Sarker and set up an office of anti-liberation party Nezam-e-Islami for carrying out atrocious activities against the pro-liberation people. Sirish and his family members were forced to leave the country. Between November 15 and 16 Taher, Nani along with other accomplices detained seven people including Badiuzzaman Mukto, an organiser of Mukijuddha, at Birampur Bazar and shot all but one dead. In the first week of October, Taher and Nani along with Pakistan soldiers and other accomplices detained 15 Hindus from Netrakona jail gate area and took them near Trimohoni Bridge and shot them dead.
On January 10 this year, trials were concluded and the verdict was kept waiting. The state sought capital punishment for them while the defence sought acquittal from the war crimes charges.
The duo were arrested on August 12, 2014.
The prosecution’s probe body began investigations against Taher and Noni on June 6, 2013, and submitted their findings on November 5, 2014.
They were indicted by the tribunal on March 2 last year.
