Two witnesses against absconding war crimes suspect Zahid Hossain Khokon alias Khokon Razakar told the war tribunal yesterday about his alleged involvement in killings and abductions in Faridpur during the 1971 Liberation War.
Fourth witness Abdul Hye Mollah, 60, claimed that on May 30 of 1971, Khokon and his accomplices had killed 16 unarmed civilians at village Kodalia under Nagarkanda police station in Faridpur.
The witness also said on April 21, Khokon and his brother Zafar along with their accomplices had given the Pakistani army a reception in Faridpur. After their cross-examination, the International Crimes Tribunal 1 fixed today for further proceedings.
He said on April 27, Khokon and his accomplices had raided a village named Banagram. They abducted 19 innocent civilians and took 17 of them to Nagarkanda police station where they had set their camp.
There they tortured the detainees for two days and later freed them in exchange of Tk10,000. The witness also said the collaborators had also looted the houses and set those on fire.
Another witness and alleged victim of Khokon’s crimes Yunus Mollah, 69, said the accused had beaten him up brutally as his brother was a freedom fighter. He also told about the same incident the fourth witness had described.
Yunus is a farmer and hails from Banagram under Nagarkanda police station. In his deposition, the witness said on Baishakh 13 of 1971, Khokon and his men had raided their village and also his house. “I was trying to escape but Khokon’s brother Zafar caught me. From the very beginning, Khokon started beating me with a rifle. Finally, they detained at least 18 people from our village but somehow two of them were freed and the others were taken to a camp.”
Khokon and his brother had tortured the abducted people there and freed them after getting Tk10,000 as ransom, the witness claimed.
On October 9, the tribunal indicted Khokon, the sitting mayor of Nagarkanda municipality and a BNP leader, on five counts of crimes against humanity.
