Two prosecution witnesses in the war crimes case against fugitive Zahid Hossain Khokon alias Khokon Razakar on Thursday described at the war tribunal killings and lootings in Faridpur during the 1971 Liberation War.
With them, the prosecution has placed at the International Crimes Tribunal 1 nine witnesses in the case in four days.
The eighth witness, Md Hafizur Rahman Chanu, said Khokon had killed 18 villagers including five of his family members in village Kodalia under Nagarkanda upazila on May 30, 1971 when the accused went to the village with the Pakistan occupation army.
Seeing them, some 60 villagers including the witness’ family hid themselves in a low-lying land. From there, they saw the strangers looting their houses and torching those. “At that time, my two year old sister Shiuli Akhter suddenly cried out and the razakars located us.”
He recalled that the attackers separated the villagers into three groups – men, youths and women with their children. They forced the men’s group to carry looted goods to Nagarkanda, the youths were kept in an open field while the women at a separate place on the southern side of the house of Sattar Mia.
Chanu said he had heard gunshots from that part of the village and two other places. Around 2pm, his father with the men group returned home and began to search the women who were separated.
As they went near Sattar’s house, they discovered 16 bullet-hit bodies. The witness said he could identify the bodies of his sister Rexena, aunties Firoza Begum and Rahima Begum, cousin Koli Akhter and grandmother Boru Khatun.
He also told the tribunal about the murders of Afzal Mia and Shukur Sheikh.
Earlier, the son of Afzal testified at the tribunal against Khokon. All the witnesses said Khokon had been present during the crimes at Nagarkanda. They also claimed that Khokon became the local razakar commander after his brother Zafar’s death in a close combat.
Md Alauddin Sheikh, 56, the ninth prosecution witness, said on May 29, 1971, three Pakistani army men had been killed in a battle between freedom fighters in village Chanderhat under Nagarkanda.
Two days later, the army went to the village to find the bodies. Failed to get any, they burnt alive three villagers – ailing Pijir Uddin, Sadek and Afaz Uddin. “When they went to Nagarkanda, we ran to those houses and buried the bodies.”
After their depositions, state defence counsel Md Abdus Shukur Khan cross examined them separately. When the counsel claimed that Khokon had fought with freedom fighters, the witnesses denied the suggestion.
The tribunal later fixed December 3 for placing next witness.
