Allegations have been raised against a former Mymensingh lawmaker and 10 others of falsely acquiring freedom fighter certificates.
The acting commander of Ishwarganj upazila Muktijoddha Command Council, Tofazzal Hossain Bhuiyan, told the Dhaka Tribune that he had filed a formal complaint to the liberation war affairs minister demanding that the certificates and benefits of 11 fake freedom fighters be cancelled and withdrawn.
In his complaint, Tofazzal claimed that two-time MP from Ishwarganj Md Abdus Sattar, who is the Awami League’s incumbent industries and commerce-related secretary, was among those who had falsely acquired his freedom fighter’s certificate.
Tofazzal further claimed that ten more had also falsely registered as freedom fighters, while two among those men – Abdul Jalil and Anwar Hossain Bhuiyan – had actually acted as razakars or collaborators during the Liberation War in 1971.
In a similar allegation on October 16, Abul Kashem – a freedom fighter from the district’s Uchakhila union – also submitted an application to the director general of the Jatiya Muktijoddha Council to remove former MP Abdus Sattar’s name from the gazetted list of freedom fighters.
In his application, Kashem mentioned that Sattar had exercised his power to illegally include his own name in the freedom fighters’ list in 2013 without any verification. He also pointed out that Sattar’s name had not been registered in any of the previous list that were compiled during different government tenures.
In the latest complaint by Tofazzal, the 11 men whose authenticity as freedom fighters have been challenged are: former MP Abdus Sattar, Abdur Rashid, Rafiqul Islam, Delwar Hossain, Abdul Jalil, Alal Uddin, Sohrab Uddin, Mortuz Ali, Anwar Hossain Bhuiyan, Pradip Kumar Bonik and Abdul Barik.
Asked about the issue, MA Sattar, commander of the Ishwarganj upazila Muktijoddha Command Council, claimed that he had no knowledge of former MP Abdus Sattar ever receiving any training to become a freedom fighter. As the Ishwarganj Muktijoddha Command Council did not have a committee in 2013, its acting in-charge was local Upazila Nirbahi Officer Tahmina Akhter – who helped the ex-MP get a freedom fighter’s certificate, claimed MA Sattar.
Tahmina, however, refused to comment on the issue when approached by the Dhaka Tribune.
Snubbing out the allegation, former lawmaker Sattar claimed that Abul Kashem – who had filed the initial complaint – was a fake freedom fighter. Backed by a quarter, the local freedom fighter commander and Kashem were spreading false propaganda against him, Sattar further claimed.
