Badhya Bhumi stands as a mute witness to Pak army atrocities

Our Correspondent
GOPALGANJ, Dec 14: Badhya Bhumi monument of '71 in Gopalganj district stands as a silent witness to liberation war where the Pakistani Armies killed hundreds of known and unknown freedom fighters and freedom loving people.
On the April 3, 1971 the enemy forces invaded Gopalganj town and burnt various parts of it to ashes, looted Gopalganj branch of the then State Bank of Pakistan and killed hundreds of men and women. The occupation army left Gopalganj after 3 days.
After few days the enemy forces again invaded in Gopalganj and took over the circle office area in the south part of Gopalganj town to establish a mini cantonment where about 250 Pakistani forces took position.
On June and July, 1971, Pakistani army launched brutal atrocities in various parts in Gopalganj and caught a large number of people including men and women and detained them in cantonment Then brutally killed them, after physical tortures.
It is mentioned that this Badhya Bhumi (Joy Bangla Pukur) then was a brick kiln where the dead bodies were thrown.
After Liberation war local people discovered countless human skeletons there. Later the local people with political leaders buried those skeletons in that Joy Bangla Pukur. On December, 1972 a small memorial tombstone was built there but some miscreants destroyed it. Later on in 1990 a 3-feet long monument was constructed.
In the year 1994 a full monument was constructed on 33 decimal of land near at Gopalganj Sadar Upazila Office (the then CO Office).