Shyamoli Nasrin Chowdhury, wife of martyred intellectual Dr Alim Chowdhury, yesterday told the war crimes tribunal that her husband had been abducted a day before the country’s liberation in 1971 upon an order by then al-Badr leader Matiur Rahman Nizami.
During her deposition at the International Crimes Tribunal 1, the retired principal of Udayan School, Dhaka elaborated a character Maulana Mannan, an al-Badr organiser, who took shelter at their house. Late Maulana Mannan is the owner of daily Inqilab.
While she was recollecting the incidents, the environment of the court room turned quiet. Shyamoli cried out many times as she described the abduction of her husband. Once, a judge of the International Crimes Tribunal 1 also became depressed listening to her description.
Nizami, the Jamaat-e-Islami ameer, was on the dock. He was the chief of erstwhile Islami Chhatra Sangha, then student wing of Jamaat, during the war.
He is facing 16 counts of crimes against humanity that include genocide, rape, torture, abduction, confinement and conspiracy, which he allegedly committed in Pabna and Dhaka.
After her deposition, defence counsel Mizanul Islam cross-examined her partly. The tribunal then adjourned the proceedings till today.
Dr Alim was a noted eye-specialist and an associate professor at Sir Salimullah Medical College Hospital. She used to live at a rented house in Purana Paltan area with her husband, two daughters, and ailing parents, a younger sister and two brothers.
The 13th prosecution witness said: “In mid-July of 1971, an unknown person named Maulana Mannan came to our house along with his family and sought help from us. We gave them shelter, after hesitation, upon recommendation of our neighbour Mr Matin. Within few days, we saw Pakistani army personnel coming to their house. Maulana Mannan then took rent of the ground floor of our house.”
She said in early August, they saw some armed youths guarding the house. Her husband came to know that Mannan was an al-Badr organiser and the youths were al-Badr members. Mannan also assured Dr Alim of his family from any danger as they gave him shelter.
By then, she knew that the members of Chhatra Sangha formed al-Badr force and collaborated with the Pakistani occupation force in killing, rape, arson and looting.
Dr Alim was abducted in the afternoon of December 15, 1971 when curfew was in force. Shyamoli said at 4:30pm, a microbus came. “After 30-35 minutes, two-three armed al-Badr men started banging on the door and shouting to open it. My husband stepped down and desperately sought the help of Maulana Mannan, who said he would see the matter. When my husband was coming back to the first floor, the al-Badr men shouted ‘hands up.’ As my husband enquired about the matter, they replied: ‘We are taking you following an order of al-Badr high command Matiur Rahman Nizami.’ They asked him not to change the clothes, blindfolded him and took him away,” the witness broke into tears.
The witness said she then went to Maulana Mannan for help. He tried to assure her by saying: “Do not get tensed. Your husband is being taken upon an order by the al-Badr high command. Dr Fazle Rabbi has also being taken.”
Mannan expressed irritation as she wanted to know where her husband had been taken. He said Dr Alim was taken to somewhere for treatment of those injured in bombings and would be brought back once the task was complete.
She had searched for her husband at many places on December 16, the day when the Pakistani army had surrendered. The next day, she learnt that those who had been abducted were killed.
On December 18, she heard that the body was left abandoned at a brick kiln at Rayerbazar killing ground and went to the place with Dr Alim’s brother and his two assistants. She found the body with many others including that of Dr Fazle Rabbi and journalist Selina Parvin.
“His hands were tied with rope and he was blindfolded by a towel. The whole body bore many marks of bayonet charge, while his chest received numerous bullets. How can a man kill another man kill this way?”
There was none to answer her question; the court room turned silent.
The martyred intellectual’s wife prayed to the tribunal death sentence to the al-Badr high command and its members who killed her husband and other intellectuals.
