The family of Birangana Peara Begum in Sunamganj's Shalla upazila filed a complaint on Sunday against an accused war criminal's relative over humiliating her the previous day.

The complaint was filed with Shalla Police Station against Shahjahan Miah, of nearby Shyamarchar and a relative of war criminal accused Abdul Jalil of the village.

In 2019, Jalil was indicted for the mass killing of Perua-Shyamarchar during the Liberation War in 1971.

Shimul Hasan Mukti, son of Birangana Peara Begum, said, "Shahjahan came to our village and had an altercation with some local youths. Later, he came to our home drunk and started verbally abusing my mother and eventually pushed her to the ground.

"The relatives of the war criminals of the locality always misbehaved with us and humiliated Biranganas, including my mother, time and again," he said.

Md Shamsul Alam, officer-in-charge of Shalla Police Station, said, "We've started investigating the matter after receiving the complaint and legal action will be taken against the accused soon."

On December 4, 1971, a mass killing and torture spree took place at Perua-Shyamarchar area in Derai and Shalla upazila.

In 2016, Freedom Fighter Rajani Kanta Das filed a case with International War Crimes Tribunal.

In 2018, six Biranganas of Derai and Shalla upazilas were acknowledged by the government and they were listed as key witnesses in the case.

Later that year, five accused war criminals, including Abdul Jalil, were arrested.

Since then, the Biranganas have often been humiliated and intimidated by accused war criminals' relatives.

The Daily Star on April 8, 2019, published the report "Humiliated, six Biranganas living in fear".

After this report, and many other reports in local dailies, they got government support of different kinds but their safety was not properly ensured.

Contacted, Md Al-muktadir Hossain, upazila nirbahi officer of Shalla, said, "The Biranganas and all other witnesses of the case filed in the war crimes tribunal are facing security threats. We're planning to relocate them to a safer location, where they can stay united and we can ensure their safety."