ICT starts investigating Cox\\\'s Bazar war crimes case

The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has started investigating 19 people in Cox’s Bazar for their alleged involvement in wartime offences during Bangladesh’s independence struggles in 1971. ICT’s Investigation Officer ASP Md Nurul Islam finished questioning 11 people in the district town on Thursday evening. He told reporters that he had visited several spots of the purported war crimes since starting work in Cox’s Bazar on Augusts 26. Islam recorded the testimonies of families of martyrs, freedom fighters and victims before questioning the suspects. The names of the witnesses and the 11 suspects questioned have been kept secret. A report would be submitted to the tribunal after the investigation, he said. Anowar Hossain Bangali, former organising secretary of the Cox’s Bazar freedom fighters’ council, filed a war crimes case, accusing 20 people, at Chokoria Senior Judicial Magistrate’s Court in 2010. The court took the case into cognisance and sent it to the Chokoria Police Station for investigation. It was subsequently forwarded to the ICT, according to a news agency.