Verdict on Netrakona ‘Razakars’ tomorrow

The International Crimes Tribunal-1 will deliver verdict tomorrow in a case filed against two people of Netrakona for their alleged involvement in crimes committed during the Liberation War in 1971.

The accused -- Hedayet Ullah Anju, 80, and Sohrab Fakir, 88, -- are facing five charges. Of them, Sohrab Fakir is in jail while Hedayet Ullah is now on the run.

The three-member tribunal led by Justice Md Shahinur Islam fixed the date today, Prosecutor Sabina Yesmin Khan Munni told The Daily Star.

Earlier, the tribunal kept the verdict waiting after both the prosecution and the defence counsel completed their closing arguments.

On November 27, 2016, the prosecution pressed five specific charges against three persons including Anju and Sohrab. Another accused Enayet Ullah Manju, 70, also the brother of Anju, died of old age complications in custody on January 25, 2017.

Hedayet was a Jamaat-e-Islami leader while Sohrab and Enayet were its activists in 1971 and all three first joined local Peace Committees and then Razakar Bahini, an auxiliary force of the Pakistani occupation army, says the investigators.

Hedayet contested in the Pakistan Nation Election in 1970 with Jamaat ticket but was defeated.