The war crimes prosecutors on Sunday submitted formal charges on 10 counts of crimes against humanity in 22 incidents against Abul Kalam Azad, who was known in Faridpur as Bachchu Razakar during the 1971 War of Independence, to the registrar of the International Crimes Tribunal.
The charges brought against Bachchu include genocide, murder, rape, abduction, confinement, oppression, arson, looting, deportation and forcible conversion of Hindus to Islam in 1971, prosecutor Md Shahidur Rahman told New Age.
He said that they have submitted 384 pages of documents, including the 59-page main report, seizure list, statements of the witnesses and a few paper clippings.
‘We have also submitted a list of 55 prosecution witnesses to prove Bachchu’s involvement in crimes against humanity committed in 1971,’ he said.
The crimes that Bachchu Razakar committed during the War of Independence include the killing of 14 persons and numerous unknown people, rape of three and numerous unknown women, abduction of nine and numerous unknown, confinement of 10 persons and numerous unknown, burning of five houses and numerous unknown, looting of 15 houses and numerous unknown, forcible conversion to Islam of nine persons and numerous unknown and deportation of numerous people of Faridpur district, said Shahidur.
‘As Bachchu was involved with the Islami Chhatra Sangha, he was sometimes seen with Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujaheed (a war crimes suspect being tried by the tribunal). For example, at the stadium and at the Circuit House in Faridpur where crimes against humanity took place,’ he said.
The prosecutor said that Bachchu, hailing from Borokhardia under Saltha in Faridpur, started his criminal activities in Nagarkanda, Boalmari and Salta in Faridpur at the beginning of the war and later gained the occupation army’s confidence and extended his area of operation to Faridpur town.
‘Bachchu started operating as a Razakar with his father-in-law, Chand Gazi, who was also a Razakar, and killed and oppressed the Hindus and pro-liberation persons in many areas,’ he said.
The war crimes investigation agency started probing Bachchu from 10 April, 2011 and submitted its report to the prosecution on July 29, according to official sources.
They said they had obtained ‘indisputable’ evidence against Bachchu who went into hiding when the International Crimes Tribunal-2 on April 3 issued a warrant for his arrest.
The sources, referring to intelligence reports, said that Bachchu went to Pakistan via Nepal.
The prosecution on March 25 appealed to ICT-2 for Bachchu’s arrest for the sake of proper investigation.
Courtesy of New Age
