Verdict on Shariatpur war ‘criminal’ tomorrow
A special tribunal in Dhaka will deliver the verdict tomorrow in a case filed against a man from Shariatpur for crimes allegedly committed by him during the 1971 Liberation War.
Edris Ali Sarder alias Gazi Edris, 67, now on the run, is facing four charges of crimes against humanity and genocide committed in 1971.
The International Crimes Tribunal-1 led by its chief Justice Anwarul Haque today set the date for delivering the judgment in the case.
On November 2, the ICT-1 kept the case waiting for delivering verdict on completion of the hearing from both the prosecution and defence.
On May 2, the tribunal framed four charges against two -- Edris Ali and Sulaiman Mollah, 84, of Kashipur Muslimpara in the district. But Sulaiman died of old age complications at Dhaka Medical College Hospital on October 25.
According to the prosecution, Edris was a leader of Islami Chhatra Sangha, then student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, and joined Razakars. Sulaiman was a Muslim League leader who in 1971 formed the Peace Committee and Razakar Bahini in Shariatpur.
CHARGES
The first charge says Sulaiman and Edris, along with 100 to 150 Pakistani troops, attacked Angaria, Kashabhog, and Modhyapara in Palang upazila (now Shariatpur Sadar) on May 22, killed 200 Hindus and one Abdus Samad Sikder, and looted and burnt all the houses.
The next day the accused, along with 100 Pakistani army men, attacked Malopara and Rudrakar villages and shot dead a priest before looting and burning all the houses, says the second charge.
They forcibly took around 20 women and 10 to 15 men from the villages to a Pakistani army camp in Madaripur, where the women were raped for three days before being released and the men shot dead, it adds.
According to the third charge, the duo along with eight to 10 Pakistani army men attacked and looted the home of one Shailendra Krishna Paul in June and killed two Hindu guards.
The fourth charge says, the accused and the Pakistani army intimidated around 1,500 people into leaving Bangladesh between March 25 and December 10.