‘Village of widows’ Sohagpur awaits war-time terror Kamaruzzaman to hang

The long wait for justice of a small village in Sherpur that was ravaged during the Liberation War is likely to end soon.

On June 25, when the Liberation War was raging, Al-Badr commander Mohammad Kamaruzzaman led the Pakistani army to Sohagpur village.

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’.

Finally, in 2013, a special tribunal sentenced Jamaat-e-Islami leader Kamaruzzaman to death for the crime.

The apex court described the crime as “worse than Nazis” and upheld the maximum penalty.

On Monday, the bench led by Chief Justice SK Sinha scrapped the war criminal’s application for review the sentence.

Prosecutors say the verdict has ended Sohagpur’s wait for justice.

Chief Prosecutor Ghulam Arieff Tipoo said they were satisfied with Monday’s outcome.

Tureen Afroz, another prosecutor, said, “Although delayed, justice has been served... Many Sohagpur residents are not alive today but their 43-year long wait has ended.”

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said the war criminal could now and the president’s mercy.

It depends on the president whether or not to show mercy.

But if Kamaruzzaman chooses not to seek presidential clemency, the government will move to execute the death sentence.

Otherwise, the execution will have to wait for the outcome of the mercy petition.

Former Jahangirnagar University vice-chancellor Anowar Hossain said the verdict proved that ‘justice has been served’ in Bangladesh.

He said the people, particularly freedom fighters, were elated.

“There are fewer moments of joy like this one,” Hossain said.

“I fought in that area during the Liberation War. Razakar commander Kamaruzzaman killed many, particularly in Sohagpur, the village of widows.

“Those who are alive there [from that time] are thanking god.”