Police on manhunt for 124 fugitive war criminals
Of the fugitives, 37 were sentenced to the death penalty, life-term or different terms in jail
By Nuruzzaman Labu
The Dhaka Tribune
At least 124 people who are facing charges, under trial, or convicted of committing crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War have long been on the run due to the lack of a specific law enforcement unit to arrest them.
The Police Headquarters recently gave special instructions to all its units to arrest these persons at the earliest, providing a list.
According to the Police Headquarters and the investigative agency of the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh (ICT-BD), investigations against six of the fugitive accused and trials against 81 accused are ongoing.
Thirty-seven of the fugitives were sentenced to death penalty, life-term or different terms in jail.
Among them, the whereabouts of four convicts have been found, so far. They are Razakar leader Abul Kalam Azad alias Bachchu Razakar of Faridpur (death sentence), currently in Pakistan; al-Badr leaders Chowdhury Mueen Uddin (death sentence) of Feni, now in the UK, and Ashrafuzzaman Khan (death penalty) of Gopalganj, now in the USA; and Razakar leader Zahid Hossain Khokon alias MA Zahid Hossain alias Khokon Razakar (death penalty) of Faridpur, said to be in Sweden.
Some of the fugitives have been arrested by law enforcement officials, including the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).
Since its inception in 2009, the tribunal has handed down verdicts in over 50 cases. Most of the cases are now pending with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court as the convicts have filed appeals against the verdicts.
The Supreme Court has disposed of appeals in ten cases, and six convicted war criminals have been hanged, so far.
At a meeting between senior police officers and the representatives of the war crimes investigation agency, it was also decided to send the complete and updated list to the Special Branch of the police so that the accused could not escape abroad. Besides, the meeting also decided that any unit can conduct operations to arrest the fugitives.
Police Headquarters DIG (Operations) Haider Ali Khan said arresting the accused under warrant is part of the regular work of law enforcement. However, instructions have been given with special emphasis on the arrest of people accused of crimes against humanity.
M Sanaul Haque, coordinator of the tribunal's investigation agency, lamented that the arrest warrants had not been implemented even though trials in many of the cases were completed.
He said: “Many are on the run or living a comfortable life. For this reason, the list has been sent to the Police Headquarters. A request has been made for the speedy arrest of the absconding accused.”
Sanaul, also a former police chief, said: “Police are busy with various tasks. That may be why there has been a laxity in the arrest of people accused of crimes against humanity. Now they have started to act. The absconding accused should be quickly arrested and brought to justice.”
Of the fugitives, investigation is underway against six people from Satkhira: Korban Ali Gazi, Abdul Jalil Gazi, Abul Hussain Gazi, Surat Ali Gazi, Abdul Aziz alias Aziz Commander and Nawab Ali Gazi alias Noba.
The other death-row convicts now on the run include Engineer Abdul Jabbar of Pirojpur, Nasir Uddin Ahmed alias Nasir alias Captain ATM Nasir of Kishoreganj, Abdul Aziz Mia alias Ghora Mara Aziz of Gaibandha, Moulvibazar Razakar commander Neshar Ali.
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