The war tribunal’s courtroom yesterday heard the horrific description of a freedom fighter who had escaped death from the hands of razakars led by accused Abdul Jabbar in Pirojpur during the 1971 Liberation War.
Santosh Kumar Mitra, 63, from Angulkata village said his brother had died from bullet wounds which had also hit his own chest as they were tied together.
He was very restless during the entire time of his deposition, as the sixth prosecution witness at the International Crimes Tribunal 1 and broke into tears several times while describing the incidents.
He said: “On October 6 of 1971, a group of razakars following the order of Jabbar attacked our village, stormed our house and looted cash and gold. They captured 37 men from the village including 18 from my family and took us to Mothbaria.”
He said the detainees’ hands had been tied to their back. However, seven people including his cousin Manindra Master were freed. At that time, the razakars also tortured the elderly with rifles.
“The razakars took the detainees to the bank of a canal at village Suryamoni one by one and gunned them down.”
Showing his chest and back, Santosh said: “Two bullets passed through my body and I only survived because of my brother Foni Mitra’s body. We were tied together and when the razakars shot at us, the bullets hit him first and then the same bullets hit me.”
After his deposition, state appointed defence counsel MA Hasan cross examined him and the tribunal adjourned the trial until today, keeping it incomplete.
The deposition of Santosh corroborated the evidence of the five other witnesses in the case.
Jabbar was indicted on August 14 for his alleged involvement in crimes such as murder, genocide, arson, looting and forceful conversion of many Hindus to Islam in Mathbaria.
Meanwhile, Motiur Rahman, the investigation officer in the trial against Maulana Abdus Subhan,
ended placing his deposition at the tribunal 2 claiming that the accused had been the secretary and vice-chairman of Peace Committee in Pabna during the war.
Placing many documents as evidence, Motiur said Subhan’s name had been on the list of collaborators prepared in 1972.
The accused also has several alias including Abdus Subhan, Abul Bashar Md Abdus Subhan Mia and Maulana Abdus Subhan Mia.
The officer said he had collected information from books, journals, newspapers and government documents to get proper evidence against Subhan and also seized the fortnightly report on political situation from then East Pakistan.
The prosecution says Subhan led and in some cases accompanied the anti-liberation forces in and around Pabna in committing atrocities from April 11, 1971.
Subhan was also accused in 1972 by a special tribunal of collaborating with the Pakistani occupation forces and summoned. However, he did not face the trail as he had already fled to Pakistan with former Jamaat chief Ghulam Azam.
According to a charge, Subhan on a day in May 1971 had led some 30 Pakistani occupation army men to Satbaria, Fakitpur, Kandarppur and Gupinpur of Pabna and premeditated the killing of at least 400 unarmed Hindus and set fire to their houses after looting them.
The accused was indicted by the tribunal 1 on December 31 last year. But the case was transferred to tribunal 2 on March 27.
