War crimes accused dies in custody

A war crimes accused hailing from Noakhali died this morning while receiving treatment at a hospital in Dhaka under police custody.

Mohammad Yousuf, 60, was arrested from Laxmipur on October 5 last year after a special war crimes tribunal issued an arrest warrant for him based on charges pressed by the prosecution.

He was hospitalised on April 20 due to various old age complications, Neasar Alam, a jailor of Dhaka Central Jail, told The Daily Star.

Yousuf breathed his last at Dhaka Medical College Hospital around 8:30am, he added.

Siddiqur Rahman, in-charge of the hospital’s police camp, endorsed the facts to The Daily Star and added that the cause of death can be ascertained after autopsy.

Yousuf was arrested in two charges of killing at least 100 people in Sreepur and Sonapur villages of Noakhali and abduction, torture and killing of at least nine in Ramharitaluk, Debipur and Uttar Chakla villages.