The Al-Badr had killed prominent ophthalmologist Dr Abdul Alim Chowdhury on the instruction of their chief, Motiur Rahman Nizami, just a day before the victory day in 1971, said Shyamali Nasrin Chowdhuy, the victim’s wife, at the International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1), on Wednesday.
A group of Al-Badr cadres picked up Alim from his Purana Paltan residence on December 15, 1971. His body was found at the Rayerbazar killing field after independence on December 18.
Shyamali (71) gave her deposition as the 13th prosecution witness against Motiur Rahman Nizami, ameer of the Jamaat-e-Islami, before the three-member tribunal, headed by justice ATM Fazle Kabir.
“I’ve been waiting for 42 years for the trial of Alim’s killers. I want to see capital punishments for them before my death,” she said.
In her deposition, Shyamali said she had tied the knot with Alim on December 21, 1965. “We lived in a three-storey rented house at 29/1 Purana Paltan with our two daughters, my parents, two brothers and a sister during the Liberation War,” she added.
Alim obtained a diploma in ophthalmology from the Royal College of Physicians of England in 1961 and returned home in 1964. On his return, he got involved in the anti-Ayub movement and soon became a target of the Ayub-government.
In mid-July, 1971, a stranger named Moulana Abdul Mannan sought their shelter. On the insistence of a neighbour, Alim gave shelter to Mannan and his family. After some days, Mannan managed the owner of their house and rented the ground floor of the building for himself.
“Al-Badr members frequented Mannan’s house. We also came to know that the Al-Badr was formed with Islami Chhatra Sangha activists and that Ghulam Azam, Nizami and Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mojahid were its central leaders,” Shyamali said.
However, Mannan assured Alim’s family that he would save Alim’s life, even by sacrificing his own life.
Shyamali said on December 15, 1971, fighter planes of the Indian Air Force started bombing on Dhaka and the backtracking Pakistani army was not able to prevent them. “It was around 4:30 pm. There was a curfew. A microbus came in front of our house. After 30-35 minutes, two or three Al-Badr members started kicking on the gate and asked to open the door. Alim ran to Mannan and sought his help. But Mannan refused to help him. Mannan advised Alim to go with the Al-Badr members, saying that nothing would happen to him,” she added.
“When Alim was coming back to his house, the Al-Badr cadres captured him. They told Alim that Nizami and their high command had asked them to take him away. They did not even allow him to change his dress. They took him away, blindfolded, and he never came back. When we met Mannan, he said Alim was taken away at the directive of the Al-Badr high command,” she recalled.
“After independence, on December 18, 1971, we heard that the body of Alim was found at a brick kiln in Rayerbazar. Alim’s brother, Hafiz Chowdhury, and his two assistants Hakim and Momin saw the dead body. It bore marks of torture. His hands were tied from the back. The bodies of other martyred intellectuals, including Dr Fazle Rabbi, Ladu bhai and Selina Parvin were also found there,” she added.
-With The Independent input
