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JP picks war crimes suspect for JS polls

Mokammel Shuvo, Jessore
Jatiya Party has picked a war crimes suspect to contest the upcoming parliamentary polls in Jessore-6 (Keshabpur) constituency.
The nomination paper of Mawlana Sakhawat Hossain, who has allegedly been
hiding since a war crimes probe against him started, was submitted yesterday by some local JP leaders.
Sanaul Huq, a senior member of the war crimes investigation agency, told The Daily Star last night that they had received
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allegations of murder, mass killing and other crimes against humanity committed during the Liberation War against Sakhawat.
"We have already found some witnesses and evidence of his involvement in war crimes," saidSanaul.
He said although the agency had begun the investigation on April 1,2012, the probe would take some more time as the investigation officer of the case had been changed.
"We, however, have completed more than half the work," he added.
Freedom fighter Kazi RafiquI Islam, also a former vice president of Keshabpur Awami League, condemned the nomination saying it was a matter of utter shame that a "notorious war criminal" was going to contest the parliamentary polls.
JP high command, however, believes that Sakhawat's nomination is justified.
Mahabub Alam Bachhu, vice chairman of the JP, said that Sakhawat could not be branded a war criminal as the allegations of war crimes against him were not proven yet.
When asked why he was hiding then, Bachhu said Sakhawat had been undergoing treatment abroad, not hiding.
He also said that Sakhawat was currently in Dhaka and was taking preparations for the polls.
Locals and sources in the war crimes probe body said Sakhawat was a central committee member of the then Island Chhatra Shangha (now Islami Chhatra Shibir) in 1971.
When the Liberation War began, he joined the Razakar force and was the in-charge of Hisladanga Razakar camp of Keshabpur.
After the Liberation War, Sakhawat went into hiding and resurfaced in 1986 as a local leader of Jamaat-e-Islami.
He contested the 1991 parliamentary polls with Jamaafs ticket in Jessore-6 (Keshabpur) constituency and was elected an MP.
Later, he joined BNP and became a lawmaker again in the short-lived parliament formed through the February 15, 1996 election.
When BNP and Jamaat formed an alliance before the 2001 elections, he could not secure the party ticket and contested the poll as an independent candidate.
He was expelled from BNP for his disobedience and joined JP afterwards.