A freedom fighter from Pabna accused top war crimes suspect Maulana Abdus Subhan yesterday of atrocities in his village and the nearby places during the 1971 Liberation War.
Mamtaz Uddin Montu, 66, of Dogachhi under Pabna sadar, told the International Crimes Tribunal 2 that the Pakistani occupation forces – assisted by the collaborators led by Subhan – had killed dozens of people in the area in May, 1971.
After the atrocities in Dogachhi village, the witness said the villagers had found the dead bodies of a 12-year-old boy, an elderly person and six others.
“We saw the bodies of Haripada Saha and Benu Saha on the road in Dogachhi Bazar,” he stated.
Montu said following Subhan’s orders, the Pakistani Army had killed Shomujuddin Pramanik and injured his wife Rahatunnessa in the nearby Kulnia village. They also killed one Amin Uddin’s wife Hasina.
The witness said the occupation forces had killed several other people, including Wazuddin.
Jamaat-e-Islami leader Subhan was indicted on December 31 last year on nine charges of crimes against humanity.
According to the charges, Subhan was the acting ameer of Pabna district Jamaat during the war, and a key leader of the collaborators’ forces – Peace Committee, razakar, al-Badr, al-Shams and Mujaheed Bahini – in the region.
He was nominated for the by-elections held in late 1971. In 1972, he was accused by a special tribunal for collaborating with the Pakistani occupation army. The tribunal asked him to be present on February 29. But he was not, as he had fled to Pakistan with then Jamaat chief Ghulam Azam. After 40 years, detectives arrested him on September 20 last year.
