ICT Chief Prosecutor Ghulam Arieff passes away

Ghulam Arieff Tipoo, the chief prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal, died at a city hospital yesterday. He was 93.

He breathed his last at 8:20am while undergoing treatment at Labaid Hospital, said his daughter Dana Nazlee.

The eminent lawyer, also a Language Movement veteran, received the Ekushey Padak-2019 for his role in 1952.

He was hospitalised with pneumonia on March 12, said Dana, adding that his father had been suffering from old-age complications for a long time.

Born in Chapainawabganj on August 28, 1931, Tipoo obtained his master's degree in law from Dhaka University.

He started practicing law at a Rajshahi courtin 1958. He was elected president of Rajshahi Bar Association several times.

Tipoo, also a freedom fighter, rose to fame after becoming a lawyer for the prosecution in the much talked about Niharbanu murder case in the 1980s.

On January 27, 1976, Nihar, a final-year student of political science at Rajshahi University, went missing on her way home in Ranibazar area from the campus. Five months later, police recovered her body that was buried under the ground floor of a house in the city's Kolabagan area.

He was the general secretary of Bangladesh Chhatra Union for two years since 1954.

Tipoo, the joint convener of the Rajshahi chapter of Rashtrabhasha Sangram Parishad, was one of the founders of Shaheed Minar on the Rajshahi College premises.

The lawyer was hired by Awami League President Sheikh Hasina for her cases during the rule of the 2008 caretaker government.

In 2010, he was appointed as the chief prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal formed to try the accused who committed crimes against humanity during the Liberation War.

His body was taken to Chapainawabganj last night.

His first namaz-e-janaza will be held at his village home in Kamalakantapur of Shibganj upazila at 8:30am today and the second one at Rajshahi College ground at 11:00am, according to his daughter Dana.

"My father spent most of his life in the two districts. His body will be taken home so that locals can pay their tribute," she said.

Tipoo's body will be taken back to the capital for burial at the Martyred Intellectuals Memorial Graveyard in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, President Mohammed Shahabuddin and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed profound grief at his demise.