War crimes: Charges framed against 2 Shariatpur men

A special tribunal in Dhaka today framed four charges against two Shariatpur men for allegedly committing crimes during the Bangladesh’s Liberation War in 1971.

The accused are: Sulaiman Mollah, 84, of Kashipur Muslimpara and Edris Ali Sarder alias Gazi Edris, 67, of Mahmudpur (Pachim Kashabhog) of the district. Of them, Edris is on the run.

The International Crimes Tribunal-1 today framed the charges against them that include genocide and rape.

The ICT’s investigation agency of on October 29 last year submitted a report and other documents that said “sufficient evidence” of war crimes was found against the duo.

According to the report, Sulaiman was a Muslim League leader who in 1971 formed Peace Committee and Razakar Bahini in Shariatpur. Edris was a leader of Islami Chhatra Sangha, the then student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, and joined Razakar Bahini in 1971.

CHARGES

The first charge says Sulaiman and Edris, along with 100 to 150 Pakistani army men, attacked Angaria, Kashabhog, and Modhyapara in Palang upazila (now Sariatpur sadar) on May 22, killed around 200 Hindus and one Abdus Samad Sikder, and looted and burnt all 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, the second charge 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 the upazila 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.