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War Crimes Trial

Witness recalls killing of father

Staff Correspondent
Itwas 1971 and the war was on.
Hours after leaving his home with his mother, Ashish Chowdhury learnt from an uncle that his father, elder brother and some relatives had been killed by the Pakistani occupation forces accompanied by Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury.
"It was April 13, 1971," Ashish began the account of his life's most tragic incident before International Crimes Tribunal-1 yesterday.
He was about 10 years old then, living in their village home at Jagotmollapara of
Raozan Upazila in Chittagong.
Fearing an attack by the Pakistani army on the day, his father Premangshu Bimol Chowdhury asked his son and wife Jotsna Rani Chowdhury to leave the village and take shelter in an aunt's house at Binajuri village of the upazila.
"Around 2:30pm [on April 13,1971] my uncle Arvinda Singha came to my aunt's house and said something devastating had happened," said Ashish, giving his testimony in the war crimes case against BNP lawmaker SQ Chowdhury.
“We broke into tears.”
SEE PAGE 19 COL 5 FROM PAGE 20
Quoting his uncle, Ashish said, “The Pakistani army and followers of the Muslim League escorted by Salahuddin Quader went to our house. They shot dead my father Premangshu, elder brother Ashok Kumar Chowdhury, aunt Monoroma, uncle Shetangshu Bimol Chowdhury and cousin Soumir Chowdhury along with 35 other people of the village."
“Many people, including my aunt Jotsnabala Chowdhury and a neighbour Amalendu Bikash, were injured in the incident”, he said, adding that Jotsnabala survived the bulletinjury.
A few days after the attack, Ashish along with his mother, two sisters and Arvinda left the country for India and took shelter at a refugee camp there. They came back to Bangladesh after liberation.
“I found [on my return] our house surrounded by a jungle. The doors and windows were gone. Only the clay walls still stood....
"People told me some locals of Baruapara had buried the dead bodies [of those who died in the April 13 attack] in our yard," he said.
Later, the bodies were exhumed from the mass grave and cremated at the family cremation ground.
About a month after the April 13 attack, Salahuddin Quader’s followers captured Bijoy Krisna Chowdhury, Bibhuti Bhusan Chowdhury and Hirendra Chowdhury and took them to Dabua Khal. They were killed there, Ashish said he had heard later.
A monument was built in the memory of the dead in Jagotmollopara.
After completion of his deposition, defence counsel Ahsanul Huq Heena cross-examined him.
On September 16, Ashish’s Uncle Arunangshu Bimol Chowdhury narrated the killing of eight of his relatives, including three brothers and two sisters-in-laws, in the same case.
Salahuddin, who faces 23 specific charges of crimes against humanity, was present at the tribunal yesterday. The proceedings were adjourned until today.
TESTIMONY FOR SAYEDEE A defence witness for war crimes accused Delawar Hossain Sayedee yesterday told the tribunal that Sayedee had stayed at his house at Dohakola village in Jessore for about two and a half months from May 1971.
The witness — Rawshan Ali -- also claimed that Sayedee was in Jessore from March that year.
Rawshan was later cross-examined by the prosecution.
In reply to a prosecution question, Rawshan said he
had learnt about the allegations of arson, killings and rape against Sayedee from newspaper reports.
Jamaat leader Sayedee, who is facing 20 specific charges of crimes against humanity, was present at the tribunal, whose proceedings were adjourned till Wednesday.
GHULAM AZAM'S CASE
The tribunal also recorded the testimony of three witnesses who were present while making the seizure list in a case against war crimes accused and former Jamaat-e-Islami chief Ghulam Azam.
Ghulam Azam's counsel later cross-examined them.
The tribunal on Sunday recorded the testimony of two other witnesses who were present while making the seizure list. They were also cross-examined by the defence yesterday.
The case was adjourned until today.