The designated prosecutor on Monday placed arguments before the International Crimes Tribunal-1 establishing the role of war crimes accused BNP MP Salauddin Quader Chowdhury carrying out genocide in collaboration with the Pakistan occupation army at Jagotmallapara, Unsotturpara and Sultanpur Banikpara on April 13 in 1971. In his summing up arguments, prosecutor Sultan Mahmud Simon said that the accused along with his accomplices in collaboration with the occupation army had launched the heinous operations one after another killing unarmed people, including women, during the Liberation War in order to exterminate and deport religious minority Hindu community.
He said that such orchestrated operations of genocide fall under section 3 (2) (c) of the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973. Referring to the evidence of the prosecution witnesses made before the tribunal, prosecutor Simon said all the PWs had corroborated each other properly about the involvement and complicity of the crimes perpetrated by accused Salauddin Quader beyond any reasonable doubt.
The prosecution told the tribunal that besides, in many cases during the cross-examinations by the defence counsel, the PWs had confirmed the presence of the accused at the places of occurrence and also his involvement in crimes. The prosecution summing up argument continued for the second consecutive day today (Monday) with elaborate discussions on six out of 23 charges made against the BNP stalwart, leaving a day out of the three days allocated by the tribunal.
BNP standing Committee Salauddin Quader faces trial on 23 counts of charges under different provisions of section 3 (2) of the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973. The charges include abduction and murdering civilians, collaborating with the Pakistani occupation army to kill and torture unarmed people, genocide, looting of valuables and torching of houses and other properties, persecuting people on religious and political grounds, and committing atrocities on the Hindus in Chittagong districts.
According to the charges, MP Salauddin was involved in the killing of more than 200 people, including the much-talked-about killing of Nutan Chandra Singh, founder of Kundeshwari Oushadhalaya of Gahira in Rauzan of Chittagong. On April 4 last year, the tribunal indicted detained accused BNP stalwart Salauddin Quader for his alleged involvement in crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War. – UNB
