Engineer Jabbar behind \\\'71 Noligram carnage: PW

Corroborating the evidence of other prosecution witnesses (PWs) over the May 22 atrocities in Noligram village of Mathbaria at Pirojpur district during the 1971 independence struggles, PW-22 Bidhan Chandra Roy blamed Engineer A Jabbar for the massacre. ‘Engineer Jabbar along with his Razakar militia had killed 11 unarmed Hindus, including my brother-in-law Surendra Nath Biswas, after storming our village Noligram,’ recalled eyewitness Bidhan, now 62, while testifying against the fugitive accused before the International Crimes Tribunal-1. ‘The perpetrators had also burned down 60 houses after ransacking,’ he said. During the deposition, the PW also disclosed some names of the 11 victims who had embraced martyrdom. PW-22 Bidhan told the tribunal that accused Jabbar, then a prominent Muslim League leader, had formed Peace Committee (collaborator) in Mathbaria thana and declared himself its chairman. He had also established Razakar militia during the Liberation War. The deposition over, the PW was cross-examined by state defence counsel MA Hasan. The three-member tribunal, headed by Justice M Enayetur Rahim, adjourned the proceedings for November 12 (Tuesday), according to UNB.