Silence at the Goods Hill that stands witness to a horrific saga in Bangladesh’s history

The house on Goods Hill in Chittagong, a notorious torture chamber during the 1971 Liberation War, now stands as a silent relic of crimes against humanity after the Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the death penalty of Salauddin Quader Chowdhury.

His brothers Giasuddin Quader Chowdhury, Saifuddin Quader Chowdhury and Jamaluddin Quader Chowdhury lived in the different wings forming the Goods Hill complex.

It is not clear who lives there now, but house stands witness to a horrific saga in Bangladesh’s history.

The government installed closed-circuit cameras at Chittagong’s war-time terror Salauddin Quader Chowdhury’s home and its surrounding areas a month ahead of the final verdict.

A police force has been deployed in front of the main entrance to the exclusive residential compound.

A worker at Goods Hill said the residents were cautious about the cameras.

Salauddin Quader Chowdhury’s Goods Hill residence near the Gani Bakery intersection was turned into a notorious torture chamber during the Liberation War. (File Photo)

He has been working there for 10 years, and refused to reveal the names of those who now live in that infamous ‘torture cell’.

The International Crimes Tribunal-1 had sentenced Chowdhury to death on Oct 1, 2013 for murdering Kundeshwari Oushadhalaya owner Nutan Chandra Singha, genocide of Hindus at Sultanpur and Unsattar Parha.

He was also convicted for the abduction and murder of a Hathazari Awami League leader and his son Sheikh Alamgir. 

No resident of the hill was seen coming out or going inside from Wednesday morning.

“No one is there. We only look after the building,” said Abdul Hai, who has been on security duty at the hill for the last five years, refusing to say anything more.

Kotwali police Sub-Inspector Md Rafiqul Islam said 20 armed police personnel were deployed on Goods Hill since 7am.

Police had been patrolling the area for some time, he said.

A security guard stopped a youth on his way to the hill at around 10:45am.

He identified himself as Md Hasan and told bdnews24.com that he came from Computer City to repair the CC cameras installed at the entrance.

He was later allowed to go inside. A newspaper hawker followed him.

And everything fell silent again.