‘Peace’ in Sohagpur, the village of widows

Sohagpur, which came to be known as ‘the village of widows’ after one fateful morning in 1971, was seemingly taking a breath of relief on Monday.

The apex court of Bangladesh upheld the death verdict for Al-Badr commander Mohammad Kamarauzzaman, who had planned an attack on the village at Sherpur’s Nalitabari.

The Pakistani Army, led by Islami Chhatra Sangha leader Kamaruzzaman with his Al-Badr, Razakar units, had surrounded the village on Jun 25 during the Liberation War. They killed 120 men and raped the women.

The massacre widowed so many that the place came to be known as the village of widows.

But relatives of the martyrs say Sherpur is now free of the horror and shame.

Mosharraf Hossain Talukder, brother of Golam Mostafa, shot dead at Sherry Bridge after days of torture and confinement in the hands of Al-Badr, said he was happy with the verdict.

“I got justice for his death. The people of Sherpur are now free from that stain,” he said.

Mohan Munshi, the guard at Al-Badr’s torture cell who testified for the prosecution, said, “This verdict will cleanse the sin I committed by joining the Al-Badr. I am asking the nation’s people to forgive me. I’m very happy with the verdict.”

“I’ve seen the torture and murders he (Kamaruzzaman) did. I testified despite fear,” he told bdnews24.com.

Majibur Rahman Panu, another witness in the Jamaat leader’s case, said he wanted the sentence to be carried out as soon as possible.

Panu had been abducted by Al-Badr militiamen and taken to the Pakistan Army’s camp at Jhenaigati Ahmmed Nagar. “They made us stand in a line, and Kamaruzzaman shot us. I survived miraculously,” he said.

On the day before the verdict, widows Jaritan Bewa, Hasina Bewa and Hazera Bewa solemnly recounted the terror the Al-Badr had unleashed 43 years ago.

“We’ve been crying for all these years, our tears have dried up,” said the women, hoping Al-Badr commander Kamaruzzaman would be hanged until death for his acts.

“Kamaruzzaman would take people who wanted freedom away to the torture cell at Noyanibazar. They would be shot at Sherry Bridge and dumped into the Mriga River,” said freedom fighter Talaptup Hossain Manju.

Md Jalaluddin, who lost seven family members including his father, uncle and brother to the attack on Jul 25, also longed to see Kamaruzzaman hang. He now heads the welfare body for martyred families at Sohaghpur.

Kamaruzzaman was born at Sajbarkhila village in Sherpur district on July 4, 1952, to businessman Moulavi Insan Ali Sarker.

Aged 19, he established the Al-Badr in the district mostly by recruiting members from the Ashek Mahmud College at Jamalpur.

The force was involved in genocide, killing, rape, looting, arson, and deportation of people in the greater Mymensingh region, including Jamalpur, Netrokona, Kishoreganj, Sherpur and Tangail.