A prosecution witness on Monday said war crimes accused Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, MP, led Muslim League followers and Pakistani occupation army to shoot at and kill 52 people near Shakpur Primary
School in Boalia in Chittagong on April 20, 1971.
Babul Chakraborty Bulbul, the 24th witness in the war crimes case against Salauddin, also told the International Crimes Tribunal-1 that the followers of Salauddin in the Razakar Bahini with support from Pakistani occupation army committed genocide in his village Shakpura from April to December 14.
Bulbul, now 62, said that the Pakistani army troops and Muslim League men dragged his father out of his house and shot him to death on April 20, 1971.
The witness identified Salauddin as the son of Convention Muslim League leader Fazlul Quader Chowdhury.
He said that 300 to 350 people were killed at different times in his village during the war.
Salauddin, facing trial on 23 counts of crimes against humanity, was in the dock.
Later, during cross-examination by Salauddin’s defence counsel Ahsanul Huq, Bulbul said that he did not remember whether he had not mentioned the names of Salauddin or his father Fazlul in his statement to the war crimes investigation officer.
The witness said that he could not recollect whether he had filed a case on February 28, 1972 in connection with the killing of his father.
He, however, said that the villagers had filed a case collectively.
Bulbul said that he could not recall whether he had mentioned the date of his father’s killing as May 16, 1971 and whether Salauddin and Fazlul were named as accused in that 1972 case.
The defence lawyer, at this point, jokingly asked whether Bulbul took any treatment for ‘not remembering’ and the witness answered in the negative.
The tribunal, however, did not record the question as the prosecution objected saying that it was humiliating for the witness.
On completion of his cross-examination, the tribunal adjourned the proceedings until April 4.
Earlier, Mizanul Islam, a senior defence lawyer for detained Jamaat amir Matiur Rahman Nizami, completed the cross-examination of Rustom Ali Mollah, the third prosecution witness against his client.
During the cross-examination, Rustom said that he did not see Nizami face to face after liberation of the country but he saw him earlier.
He also said that he did not hear Nizami’s name after independence.
Rustom is a retired security guard at Mohammadpur Physical Training College.
Nizami was in the dock.
On March 19, Rustom testified that Nizami, Ghulam Azam and Ali Ahsan Mojahid visited the camp at MPTC during the liberation war.
He also said that the Mohammadpur Physical Training College was used by the Pakistani occupation army as a torture centre and a makeshift Razakar training camp during the Liberation War.
On completion of his cross-examination, the tribunal adjourned the hearing until April 15. (Source)
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