A new prosecution witness yesterday blamed war crimes accused Abdul Jabbar for ordering to convert around 200 Hindus of a Pirojpur village to Islam and forcing Hindu women to marry Muslims during the 1971 Liberation War.
Ninth witness Ahmed Mia, a freedom fighter, also accused Jabbar for killing two freedom fighters.
He told the International Crimes Tribunal 1 that former army members Motaleb Sharif and Abdur Razzak Bishwas used to run a training centre at Phuljhuri village of Mothbaria in Pirojpur to prepare youths for the war.
Hearing this, Jabbar from a meeting at Tushkhali High School ground on May 16, 1971 ordered the collaborators to bring to him Motaleb and Razzak dead or alive. They were killed the same day.
The previous witnesses also gave statements on the same incident.
Ahmed, 60, a businessman by profession, said the collaborators the following day looted and torched around 360 houses in the same village.
“After 10-12 days, Jabbar ordered razakars to convert around 200 Hindus of Paik Bari in Phuljhuri. Later they established a mosque in the area and forced the women to marry Muslims,” he added.
After his deposition, state-appointed defence counsel MA Hasan asked him a question and the tribunal then adjourned the hearing till today.
Jabbar, the alleged chairman of Mathbaria unit Peace Committee, was indicted on August 14 on five charges of crimes against humanity.
Meanwhile, the second investigation officer in the trial against Maulana Abdus Subhan, Noor Hossain, ended placing deposition at the tribunal 2.
Later defence counsel Mizanul Islam started cross examining him and the tribunal adjourned the trial until today.
Pabna Peace Committee chairman Subhan is facing nine charges of crimes against humanity that he had committed during the Liberation War.
