Alim aided Pak army in killing 22 AL men

The Pakistani occupation army in a single assault in Joypurhat during the Liberation War killed at least 22 Awami League supporters, according to a list prepared by Abdul Alim.
Mozammel Hossain, a survivor of the assault, yesterday testified to this at the International Crimes Tribunal-2 in a case against former Muslim League leader Alim for committing crimes against humanity.
The 15th prosecution witness in Alim's case, Mozammel told the court that the victims became the target of Alim merely for supporting the AL.
He and his family members were compelled to leave the country in the face of “torture” committed by the accomplices of “Razakar commander” Abdul Alim in 1971.
The 65-year-old witness from Chakbarkat Sonarpara village under Joypurhat Sadar upazila gave a heart-rending description of how he was picked up from the yard of a mosque, tortured and hacked by the Pakistani army.
The three-member tribunal led by Justice Obaidul Hassan recorded the testimony before adjourning the case proceedings until today, when he will face cross-examination by the defence.
Mozammel, who was a farmer at a village near the Indian border, said as the Pakistani army entered Joypurhat in 1971, accomplices of Razakar commander Alim started torturing local people on his instructions.
Being frightened, he along with his family members left the country in the second week of Baishakh and took refuge at Pirich refugee camp in India. But Mozammel returned home the following Friday.
On Friday of the first week of Ashar, Mozammel went to the mosque in his village. But when he came out of the mosque, the Pakistani army along with Peace Committee member Riaz Mridha took him and 20 others to nearby Birala village.
On the way, the Pakistani army employed them and around 500 more people to pull up an army vehicle from a ditch. The vehicle had plunged into the ditch in a mine attack, said Mozammel.
Later, the occupation army took all of them to Chakpahananda village and lined them up.
“Peace Committee member Riaz Mridha pulled out a list from his pocket and gave it to the Pakistani army. In Urdu, he said Alim Shaheb had given him the list,” mentioned the witness.
According to the list, the Pakistani army called out the names of 28 people, including Mozammel, and released others. Then the group was hit with rifle butts and taken to the house of one Afaz with their hands tied.
A little later, soldiers forced them to dig a big hole near the house. When the job was done around 7:00pm, army men again confined them in the house.
Soldiers then took them near the big hole and hacked them severely before kicking them into the hole one after another. Mozammel was among the last eight who were pushed into the hole.
“At first, they [soldiers] pulled me by my hair and threw me to the ground. Then they hacked me with a large machete on my right shoulder and throat,” said Mozammel, showing his injury marks to the court.
Several of his teeth were broken as soldiers hit his jaw and kicked him into the hole. Due to the brutal torture, he fell unconscious there.
“After sometime, I regained my senses and found some people were groaning in the hole,” mentioned Mozammel.
Later he managed to flee from the hole and went to India where he underwent treatment at Balurghat Hospital for three months. He also had to receive treatment at Gangarampur Hospital for full recovery.
He again went to Pirich refugee camp and found five surviving victims of his group.
The 22 victims were buried in the mass grave [hole], said Mozammel.
Alim is facing 17 charges of crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the nine-month long war.
KAMARUZZAMAN'S CASE
The tribunal for the third consecutive day yesterday adjourned the case proceedings of Jamaat-e-Islami leader Muhammad Kamaruzzaman as none of his senior counsels appeared before it.
Yesterday had been fixed for the deposition of the closing arguments of the defence, but a junior counsel sought adjournment of the proceedings saying that senior counsels could not appear due to “unavoidable situation.”
The court fixed today for the arguments.
Kamaruzzaman is facing seven charges of committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War.