Ambulances with Nizami’s body leave Dhaka jail for Pabna

Two ambulances, including one believed to be carrying the remains of war criminal Motiur Rahman Nizami, have left the Dhaka Central Jail, where the Jamaat-e-Islami chief was hanged, for Pabna.

The former commander of Al-Badr militia, which assisted Pakistan Army during Bangladesh’s Liberation War in 1971, will be buried at his village home at Santhia Upazila.

Orchestrator of the murders of intellectuals just before the victory of Bangladesh, Nizami was hanged to death in the first hour of Wednesday.

Before the execution, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said the war criminal had not pleaded for presidential clemency.

His relatives saw him for the last time at the jail on Tuesday night.

Preparation was going at Santhia for the burial of Nizami who lived at Dhaka’s Banani with family.

The two ambulances, escorted by RAB and police vehicles, came out of the jail around 1:30am.

Police said the vehicles would go to Pabna via Farmgate and Uttara in Dhaka, Tangail, Bangabandhu Bridge on the Jamuna River, and Sirajganj.

They said security had been beefed up in Gazipur, Tangail, Sirajganj, and Pabna.

Family said Nizami would be buried at his family graveyard after the Namaz-e-Janaza at the Manmothpur Madrasa ground in Dhopadah union.

Locals said Santhia was tense with law enforcers patrolling the area.

Santhia police OC Nasir Uddin told bdnews24.com that cleaning of the graveyard began after Tuesday evening.

Nizami’s cousin Abdullah Al Mamun said police had designated the place for his burial.

The war criminal was elected MP thrice from Santhia and made minister during BNP chief Khaleda Zia’s government.

The 73-year old had exhausted all options to get his death penalty overturned, which was handed down by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in 2014.

The legal battle that he waged even since his arrest on Jun 29, 2010, has been long.

He sought a review after the Supreme Court upheld the maximum sentence on Jan 6 this year but the petition was dismissed last week for having ‘no merit’.

He was entitled to begging pardon from the president by admitting his guilt.

But the home minister at 8:10pm on Tuesday said, “Nizami did not seek mercy. The executive order to carry out the death sentence has been sent to the prison authorities.”

Nizami was moved to Dhaka Central Jail from Kashimpur prison in Gazipur after his review petition had been thrown out and the final Appellate Division verdict was read out to him on Monday.