A new prosecution witness on Tuesday said both Chowdhury Mueen Uddin and Ashrafuzzaman Khan were among the people who had abducted his father, the martyred intellectual Abul Khayer, in December 1971.
The abductors also picked up Dr Fazle Muhi from the third floor of the same building, the prosecution witness, Rashidul Islam, told the International Crimes Tribunal 2. Rashidul, 47, said he himself had witnessed the incidents.
Both Abul Khayer and Dr Fazle Muhi were Dhaka University teachers.
After the deposition, state defence counsels Md Abdus Shukur Khan and Salma Hye cross examined him. The tribunal later adjourned the proceedings till Thursday.
Both Mueen and Ashrafuzzaman were indicted on 11 counts of crimes against humanity that include killing of 18 intellectuals. The prosecution alleges that Mueen was al-Badr’s “operation-in-charge” while Ashrafuzzaman played the role of “chief executor” of the para militia force that consisted of members from Islami Chhatra Sangha, then the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami.
Rashidul, 18th witness in the case, saw four to five armed youths, in a mud-stained minibus, pick up his father from their Fuller Road residence in the capital on the morning of December 14, 1971. He witnessed the incident from the balcony of their house.
The witness said he immediately informed his mother and she rushed to the spot and tried to free Abul Khayer. The abductors threatened to open fire, pointing their arms at her.
Dr Muhi was abducted at the same time and put inside the microbus.
The witness said on January 4, 1972, driver of the minibus Mofiz had told his family members that bodies of many intellectuals were dumped at a Mirpur killing field. Mofiz also said Mueen and Ashraf were involved in the killing of his father and other intellectuals.
Later his family members searched the place and identified the body of Abul Khayer at the Mirpur killing ground. The witness said he had heard about it from his mother.
