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| Bangladesh |
| Life term for 46 Purbo Banglars |
| 2013-05-16 |
| [Bangla Daily Star] A Speedy Trial Tribunal of Rajshahi yesterday sentenced life term imprisonment to 46 operatives of outlawed Purbo Banglar Communist Party ...the Proletarian Party of East Bengal, a Maoist party that has seen better days. It supported independence in 1971 and has periodic shootouts and fisticuffs with the Bangla Jamaat-e-Islami, but has fallen on hard times, with many of its leaders rubbed out by the RAB or indignant citizenry. It is also subject to factionalism, to the extent that it may have more factions than it has actual members... for killing six people at Atrai upazila in Naogaon in 2003. Judge Ekramul Haque Chowdhury fined the convicts Tk 30,000 each, in default, they would have to suffer one year of imprisonment more, said public prosecutor Entajul Haque. Of the convicts, 28 were present on the dock during the verdict whereas 18 remained absconding. The court, however, acquitted 16 accused in the case. A band of operatives of the PBCP (Red Flag) took part in a killing mission at two houses at Naidighi village in the upazila on April 24, 2003 and killed Jahangir Hossain, Sukbor Hossain, Abdul Jabbar, Shahjahan, Mojammel Haque and Biddyut. Jahangir's father filed a murder case with Atrai Police Station on the following day accusing 150 unnamed PBCP members. Police submitted a charge sheet in the case against 63 people on September 30, 2004. The judge examined 25 prosecution witnesses and pieces of evidence before reaching the verdict yesterday. One of the accused could not be tried following his death during the trial process. The plaintiff, Jahangir's father, had already expired. However, there's no worse danger than telling a mother her baby is ugly... Abdul Kuddus, elder brother of victims Sahajahan and Biddyut, in his reaction said they had expected the killers to walk the gallows. He expressed his satisfaction. PP Entajul said the victims' rivals had hired the PBCP outlaws for the murder, as there was a longstanding conflict over the lease of some water bodies in the village. Prior to the murder, the PBCP men had also threatened the victims to face dire consequences for being in disputes with Akkas, Ekhlas and Robiul Alam of the village, he added. The victims took cautionary measures following the threat and started living in a hidden chamber inside their houses. On the fateful day, the PBCP men, carrying machetes and cleavers, attacked Jahangir's house first around 3:00am and killed him by slitting his throat. They then moved on to an adjacent house and killed the remaining victims in the similar fashion after getting them out from the hiding place. The PBCP members also rolled their eyes, jumped up and down, and hollered poorly rhymed slogans real loud while fleeing the scene. |
| Posted by:Fred |