ICT accepts case against Mahbubur

The International Crimes Tribunal-1 yesterday accepted the case filed in connection with the abduction and killing of philanthropist Ranada Prasad Shaha, his son and many others during the Liberation War in 1971.

The three-member tribunal led by Justice Md Shahinur Islam also appointed Gazi MH Tamim as state defence counsel for the accused -- Mahbubur Rahman, 69, from Mirzapur in Tangail -- as he was unable to appoint a lawyer.

It also fixed March 11 for charge hearing.

The prosecution on January 10 pressed charges against Mahbubur for allegedly abducting and killing Ranada, his son Bhabani Prasad Shaha and five others.

He has also been charged with the abduction and killing of 55 other people in two other incidents in 1971.

Mahbubur, now in jail custody, was arrested on November 7 in 2015. The Jamaat adherent ran for the chairman post of Mirzapur Union Parishad as an independent candidate three times, but was defeated each time, investigators said.

On May 7 of 1971, Mahbubur, along with local Razakars and some 20 to 25 members of the Pakistan army, raided RP Shaha's home in Khanpur of Narayanganj, according to the first charge in the case.

They abducted him, his son, his associate Gour Gopal Shaha, and four others and took them to Adamjee Burma Eastern Oil Depot.

Later, the seven were killed and their bodies were dumped in the Shitalakkhya river. Their bodies were never found.

The same day, on May 7, the Pakistan army in the presence of and with the assistance of Mahbubur, his father and brother attacked and killed 33 Hindu residents of Mirzapur's Shahapara, the second charge reads.

On May 15, Mahbubur and his father, along with 15 to 20 Razakars, picked up 24 Hindus from different villages in the upazila, as per another charge.

Mahbubur later handed the abductees over to the Pakistan army who tortured 22 of them to death, it said.

Meanwhile, the tribunal decided to hold trial of seven Bagerhat men in absentia in connection with a case filed for allegedly committing crimes during the Liberation War.

The tribunal made the decision as the fugitives did not appear before it even after publication of advertisements in two national dailies, asking them to do so, Prosecutor Sabina Yesmin Khan Munni said.

Earlier, police submitted a report mentioning them as fugitives.

The fugitives are Sultan Ali Khan, 68, Rustam Ali Mollah, 70, Rafiqul Islam alias Babul, 64, Moniruzzaman Hawlader, 69, Azhar Ali Sikder, 64, Sheikh Edris Ali, 61, and Khan Ashraf Ali, 65. Five other accused -- Khan Akram Hossain, 60, Edris Ali Mollah, 64, Sheikh Mohammad Ukil Uddin, 62, Hashem Ali Sheikh, 79, and Mokbul Mollah, 79 -- are now in jail.

The prosecution on April 19 last year pressed seven specific charges against them.

All the accused -- involved with the Razakar Bahini, an auxiliary force of the then Pakistan occupation army -- are from Kachua, Morrelganj and Sadar upazilas of Bagerhat, according to investigators.