Amid hartal, a senior defence counsel on Thursday appeared in the International Crimes Tribunal-1 first ever with police escort for cross-examining prosecution witness against war crimes accused BNP MP Salauddin Quader Chowdhury.On Wednesday the tribunal asked the prosecution to provide advocate Ahsanul Huq Hena with police escort during the hartal hours on way to the tribunal by his car from his house and also on return in order to run the trial smoothly.
About the security privilege provided for him, defence counsel Hena told UNB that he felt himself like a VIP on way to the tribunal. “Really, I enjoyed it,” he said smiling,
With detained accused BNP stalwart SQ Chowdhury in the dock, defence counsel Hena cross-examined PW-22 Anil Chandra Dhar.
During the cross-examination, Anil, who survived brush fire leaving his father, uncle and a neighbour dead on April 13 in 1971, told the tribunal that he had filed a case with Raozan Police Station on April 5, 1972 accusing Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, his father and 14 others of the killing episode.
“But I can’t remember whether police submitted charge sheet with the court against 14 accused excluding SQ Chowdhury and his father as I did not pursue the case,” he said.
Replying to a defence suggestion, Liberation War victim Anil said: “It’s not true that he pretends to be unaware despite knowing everything about the fate of the case.”
The PW said he did not hear any gunshots on Rangamati road on April 13, 1971, the fateful day when accused SQ Chowdhury accompanying Pakistan occupation army along with Muslim league followers carried out operation at their house in Sultanpur Dakkhin Banikpara of Raozan, killing his father, uncle and a neighbour and left the scene apprehending him dead.
He denied another defence suggestion that he along with his father, mother, brothers and sisters left Bangladesh for India after March 7, 1971.
Anil, whose bullet-hit left hand was amputated from the elbow during treatment at the Chittagong Medical College Hospital, also denied the defence suggestion that he was made victim of a road accident in Kolkata in which he suffered serious injury to his left hand and later the injured hand was cut off from the elbow as the injured part of his hand developed gangrene in absence of treatment for long.
SQ Chowdhury faces trial with 23 counts of charges of crimes against humanity during the Liberation War under different provisions of section 3 (2) of the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973 including genocide in collaboration with Pakistan occupation army, killing, extermination of Hindu minority groups, deportation, persecution and abduction in Chittagong district.
