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War crimes witness attacked again

Bomb thrown at his house, shop partially burnt

Staff Correspondent
Just five days after a prosecution witness from Pirojpur died of stab injuries, another man, who had given testimonies in two war crimes trial cases, came under attack in Faridpur early yesterday.
Ranjit Kumar Nath was lucky that the petrol bomb
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thrown into the compound of his house did not explode, reports our Faridpur correspondent. But his firewood shop, just 200 yards away at Rathkhola in Faridpur town, was set on fire around 12:30am. By the time local people put out the fire, the shop was partially burnt.
Ranjit, who had testified against Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed and expelled Jamaat member Abul Kalam Azad, known as Bachchu Razakar, held Jamaat-Shibir activists responsible fortheattack.
"I am sure that people loyal to Mojaheed have made the attack as I testified against him," Ranjit told The Daily Star last night.
The attack on Ranjit's house and shop came in a series of attacks on the houses of judges, prosecution witnesses and prosecutors involved in the war crimes trial.
Yesterday around 12:45am, an employee of Riya Bakery beside the firewood shop informed Ranjit about the torching of the shop. As Ranjit along with his family members made a dash for the shop, they found a petrol bomb in front of his house intact.
On information, police went to his house and recovered the unexploded petrol bomb, said Tapan Debnath, a sub-inspector of Kotwali Police Station.
"We have taken the incident seriously and beefed up security measures in the area," said Officer-in-Charge Syed Mohsinul Haque.
Following the incident, police remained on guard around Ranjit's house until the day broke.
Talking to The Daily Star, Ranjit said he was feeling insecure.
He had told the International Crimes Tribunal that he was tortured by Abul Kalam Azad and others after Mojaheed held a meeting with a Pakistani army officer and local razakars at Faridpur Circuit House during the 1971 Liberation War.
The court found both Mojaheed and Azad guilty of the charge and awarded them different jail terms.
It, however, condemned the two, from Faridpur, to death for committing other crimes against humanity during the war.
Mojaheed is now in jail. His appeal against the ICT verdict is pending with the Supreme Court. Azad has been on the run since April 2012 before his trial began.
On December 10, Mostafa Hawlader, a key witness in the war crimes case against Jamaat leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee, died two days after he had been hacked in sleep at his Pirojpur home allegedly by Jamaat-Shibir activists.
On October 28, alleged Jamaat-Shibir men attacked the house of Mahabubul Alam Howlader, another prosecution witness of the case, and vandalised all valuables he had. I Ie escaped unhurt hiding in the attic.
Village houses of Justice SK Sinha, Justice ATM Fazle Kabir and Justice Jahangir Hossain Selim, all linked with the trial of war crimes, came under attack between December 11 and 13. Hand-made crude bombs were also exploded in front of several prosecutors' houses.
Justice seekers and campaigners of war crimes trials have been demanding a law for the protection of witnesses and victims, but in vain.