A temporary police camp was set up at Sohagpur village in Nalitabari upazila on Friday night to ensure security of villagers as the Appellate Division upheld the death sentence of Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mohammad Kamaruzzaman.
The villagers include widows, family members of martyrs and witnesses.
President of Bidhoba Kalyan Samity (Widow Welfare Association) Jalal Uddin said the camp had provided the villagers with a sense of security.
“The widows who testified in war crimes cases were threatened by some locals. The women were scared and feared that something bad might happen to them. But now they feel quite secure,” he said.
Officer-in-Charge of Nalitabari police station AKM Aminul Haque said the makeshift camp was set up at Kakarkandi union parishad to avoid any possible untoward situation.
On July 25, 1971, Pakistani forces in a gruesome attack killed 187 males in Benupara, turning the place into a village of widows.
Of the 57 women who were widowed on the day, 31 are still alive. Three widows among the 31 and also a child of a martyr family testified against Kamaruzzaman in the International Crimes Tribunal 2.
