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Recalling the dreadful days

Ahmed Humayun Kabir Toru, Pabna
The morning of May 14, 1971 still haunts the elders of Baousgari village ofPabna's Santhia upazila.
Around 450 villagers, both Hindus and Muslims, were massacred by the Pakistani army and their local collaborators, including Motiur Rahman Nizami, on that dreadful morning.
So, it was no surprise that the news of this notorious war criminal's death penalty awarded by the International Crimes Tribunal delighted the people of Santhia, especially those who testified against Nizami, the chief of Jamaat-e-Islami.
However, they could hardly express their feelings for fears of revenge attacks by Jamaat men.
Pabna is a Jamaat stronghold and Nizami, born at Santhia's Manmathpur on March 31, 1943, was elected a parliamentarian from Pabna-1 in 2001 election.
Whereas most of the eight prosecution witnesses from the upazila declined to talk about their feelings, two of them - freedom fighters Zahurul Haque and Md Tofazzal Hossain Master -- were the exceptions.
"I am not worried for my life. That is why, I testified against Nizami. I am happy with the punishment meted out in the verdict,” Zahurul Haque told
Zahurul Tofazzal
The Daily Star.
A resident of Haria village in Santhia, Zahurul said he had received numerous threatening phone calls from Jamaat men after his testimony against Nizami at the tribunal.
"They cannot scare me. But I am concerned about my family's safety. I want security for them," said Zahurul, also former commander of the upazila unit Muktijoddha Sangsad.
Once a valiant freedom fighter, Tofazzal Hossain Master did not hesitate to express his satisfaction at the verdict.
Jamaat men threatened him too for his deposition againstNizami.
" I am a warrior of the battlefield. So, I am never afraid of death," he said.
"But I am concerned about the safety of my family," added the headmaster of Santhia Upazila Parishad High School, who had told the ICT about the torture cell set up by Nizami in Santhia during the Liberation War.
However, the other prosecution witnesses could not muster so much courage asTofazzal and Zahurul.
Seeking anonymity, one of them said, "We are happy with the verdict but we are worried about our security as Jamaat men are continuously threatening us."
Another witness declined to provide his photograph to this correspondent saying, "I do not want myself to be focused. I am worried about the security of family members as I am getting threats from Jamaat men repeatedly."
In fact, some local Jamaat men attacked him a few months ago over a trivial issue. The around-80-year-old thinks it was actually a revenge attack for his testimony at the tribunal.
"Nizami sitting on an army jeep identified the freedom fighters and Hindus in Koromza village and the Pakistani soldiers killed nine people, including Megha Thakur, there during the Liberation War. I was an eyewitness of the incident," he had told the special court.
Contacted, Officer-in-Charge Sahed Mahamud of Santhia Police Station said they had taken necessary security measures for the safety of the prosecution witnesses.
Recalling
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"Santhia upazila parishad auditorium has been prepared for sheltering the prosecution witnesses. If they feel insecure, they can come and stay here," the OC told The Daily Star.
"Special security measures have been taken across Santhia as it is Nizami's area. Additional police personnel have been deployed at important points. Police, Rab and BGB are patrolling in the upazila," he said, claiming that the situation was under control.
However, the prosecution witnesses hardly feel safe. They demanded a permanent solution to this as they feel that Jamaat men might not let go of them anytime soon.
DEMAND FOR QUICK EXECUTION The pro-liberation people of Santhia have demanded early execution of the verdict against Nizami.
"Freedom fighters of Santhia are happy at the punishment awarded to Motiur Rahman Nizami. But we want to see speedy execution of the verdict," said Md Abdul Latif, commander of Santhia Upazila Muktijoddha Sangsad.
“The verdict would rid the soil of Santhia of the stigma of Razakar," local AL leader Robiul Karim Hiru told The Daily Star.
Hiru, also the joint convener of Santhia upazila Awami League, even said after the verdict is executed, they would not allow Nizami's body be buried in Santhia.
Following the pronouncement of the verdict, Santhia upazila AL brought out a procession hailing the judgment. They also distributed sweetmeats among people.
Meanwhile, Jamaat men tried to bring out a procession in Pabna yesterday afternoon to protest the verdict, but police foiled it.
"Law enforcement agencies have been kept alert in the district. Jamaat men would not be able to create violence," said Siddikur Rahman, additional superintendent of Pabna police, adding that 16 Jamaat-Shibir men were detained in the district yesterday.