BSS, Dhaka :
A new prosecution witness (PW) in the trial of Engineer Abdul Jabbar on Wednesday submitted her deposition, narrating how Razakars following the order of the accused abducted and murdered her family members in 1971.
Bokuli Rani Halder, 62, inhabitants of village Mothbaria in Pirojpur, testified against the former Jatiya Party MP as the PW-15.
“Following the order of Jabbar, a group of Razakars raided our house in the midnight of October 6, 1971. They looted the house and nabbed my father-in-law Modhusudan Halder and brother-in-law Prionath Halder and started beating them mercilessly. As my father-in-law asked them why they were being captured, they replied that their leader Jabbar has asked them to do so,” said Bokuli.
“Razakars took them away along with many villagers. The next day, my husband Parimal Chandra Halder told me that a total of 22 people including my in-laws have been gunned down in neighboring village Surjomoni,” she added.
After her deposition, Advocate Mohammad Abul Hasan, state-appointed counsel for the fugitive accused, cross-examined her and the ICT-1 then adjourned the hearing till Sunday.
At the start of the session, the defence concluded cross-examination of PW-14, Mahendra Adhikari, who testified against Jabbar on Tuesday.
The ICT-1 on August 14 indicted Jabbar, allegedly the chairman of Mothbaria unit of Peace Committee in Pirojpur during the War of Liberation, framing five charges of crimes against humanity against him.
