A war crimes tribunal in Dhaka is set to deliver its verdict today in the case against former Jatiya Party lawmaker engineer Mohammad Abdul Jabbar, now fugitive, for his alleged crimes committed in Pirojpur during the 1971 Liberation War.
The International Crimes Tribunal 1 has kept the case on its cause list for today.
The three-member tribunal, led by Justice M Enayetur Rahim, concluded the trial proceedings on December 3 last year and kept the case waiting for verdict. Jabbar was indicted on August 14, 2014.
The alleged chairman of Mathbaria unit Peace Committee, an auxiliary force of the Pakistani occupation army, is facing five charges of crimes against humanity and genocide committed in Pirojpur.
Jabbar, now 85, had allegedly played a key role in the formation of razakar force and led the collaborators in committing crimes in Mathbaria.
The charges levelled against him include killing 36 people, forcefully converting 200 Hindus to Islam, and looting and torching 500 houses in several villages of the district.
The prosecution submitted the formal charges against Jabbar on May 11 last year. On May 12, the tribunal issued arrest warrant against him after taking the charges into cognisance.
On July 8 last year, the tribunal appointed Mohammad Abul Hassan as counsel to defend the fugitive accused.
A total of 24 prosecution witnesses testified against Jabbar. The defence did not bring anyone to give deposition in favour of the accused.
A former Muslim League leader, Jabbar was also made accused in a case filed under the collaborators’ act in 1972.
After the independence, he went into hiding and remained fugitive until the political changeover of August 15, 1975. Resuming politics, Jabbar was elected lawmaker from Mathbaria in 1986 and 1988 with Jatiya Party ticket.
Jabbar has been on the run since 2009, according to the war crimes investigation agency.
According to a witness, Jabbar was elected an MPA in 1967-68. He took the charge of Peace Committee of Mathbaria during the war and recruited Iskandar Ali Mridha as the razakar commander of that area.
The charges say razakars and other anti-liberation forces on Jabbar’s instruction killed Motaleb Sharif and Abdur Razzak Bishwas in Phuljhuri village of Mathbaria on May 16. They also looted and torched the houses of around 100-150 Hindus at Kulupara and Nathpara the same day.
On May 17, upon Jabbar’s order, his accomplices killed Sarada Kanta Paik while attempting to flee away. They also torched around 360 houses belonging to Muslim and Hindu families after looting.
On May 22, Jabbar shot dead Sokhanath Kharati in Naligram village while his accomplices, under his order, killed Jitendra Nath Biswas, Nishi Kanta Biswas, Surendra Nath Biswas, Sokhanath Kharati, Gonesh Chandra Mistri, Nepal Chandra Mistri, Upandra Nath Mistri, Basanto Halder, Boloram Mistri, Upendra Nath Biswas and Shasti Hawlader. Around 60 houses of the local Hindus were looted and set on fire.
Around 200 Hindus of Paik Bari under Phuljhuri village were converted to Islam in the last week of May. They were given Muslim names and forced to eat beef. Later the razakars established a mosque in the area and forced the Hindu women to marry Muslim men.
On October 6 of 1971, about 40-50 razakars led by Jabbar went to Angulkata village and detained 37 Hindus. Out of them, 22 persons were killed by gun shots while 15 others injured. The collaborators also looted the houses of the victims.
