Noakhali Sadar, Begumganj upazilas: Killing fields, mass graves of ’71 lie unprotected

While most of the killing fields and mass graves of 1971 in Sadar and Begumganj upazilas are hardly recognisable now, the three sites where memorials had been built lie in utter disrepair.

Built to commemorate war crimes committed during the War of Independence in 1971 by the Pakistan occupation forces and their local collaborators, two among the three memorials have become safe haven for hooligans and drug addicts. 

Locals said the indifference of the authorities concerned in ensuring routine maintenance and proper security measures for the establishments have created the situation. 

'Badhwabhumi Memorial and Liberation War Museum of 1971' was built by Begumganj district council in front of Begumganj Government Technical High School.

But the museum was never opened to public and its main entrance till date remains occupied by transport workers and passengers throughout the entire day till late at night.

The second mass grave memorial, also built by Begumganj district council, is at Kala Pool in Chaumuhani municipal area.

Abul Hossain Bangalee, former commander of freedom fighters in Begumganj upazila, said 111 people from different areas of the upazila were lined up at the northern side of Kala Pool and shot to death by the Pakistan army.

They dumped most of the bodies in the nearby Wapda canal and buried about 50 to 60 of them near Kala Pool, said Abdul Karim Prakash Chowdhury, 72, a resident of Uttar Nazirpur village.

Another Nazirpur resident, Tayyaba Khatun, 65, said she sustained bullet injuries in 1971 when the Pakistan army attacked their house near Kala Pool.

She also said she witnessed how people were shot and their bodies dumped in the canal near the killing field.  

The memorial of Kala Pool is now in a deplorable condition due to lack of maintenance. Moreover, the unprotected establishment has turned into a hotspot for local criminals and drug dealers, especially in the evening and onwards.

Locals requesting anonymity said no one dares to raise objection against the criminals who conduct their illicit activities at the memorial.

The third memorial is located at Sonapur Ahmadiyya High School in Sadar upazila.

Mamtazul Karim Bachchu, former deputy commander under Muktijoddha Sangsad in Noakhali, said the monolith placed on the premises of Sonapur Ahmadiyya High School in Sadar upazila bears the testimony of the June 15 massacre of 1971.

Several hundred youths, students, teachers and different professionals from surrounding areas were huddled up that day near the school compound by the Pakistan army and killed.

About 30 to 40 people were killed and buried in a mass grave on the southern side of Maijdi Court Railway Station in Noakhali town and about one hundred and fifty more in Banglabazar area of Chaumuhani, but no steps were taken to preserve these sites, he added.

There were at least five other mass graves in the two upazilas where thousands were massacred and buried en masse, but the historic sites are now unrecognisable, as steps were not taken in time to preserve those, said local freedom fighters.

Mosharraf Hossain, a prominent freedom fighter and former general secretary of the Noakhali unit of Sector Commanders' Forum, said the five killing fields and mass graves include a site on the south-eastern side of Noakhali Sadar Hospital.

All the killing fields or mass graves -- including the sites on the southern side of Noakhali Abdul Malek Ukil Medical College, near Atia Bari Pool in Alipur of Begumganj and the southwest corner of Begumganj Dighi -- deserve to be preserved and protected for their historical significance, said Mozammel Haque Milon, former commander of Noakhali District Freedom Fighters' Parliament.

Contacted, Noakhali Deputy Commissioner Khurshed Alam Khan said statistics on massacre victims of 1971 in Noakhali was not available. 

With regards to the miserable state of the liberation war museum in Begumganj and other mass grave memorials in the district, he said advice of freedom fighters would be sought before taking necessary steps in order to protect and preserve all memorials of 1971.