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Published : 11 Aug 2015, 12:36 PM
The International Crimes Tribunal-1 led by Justice Enayetur Rahim delivered the verdict on Tuesday.
Siraj and Akram stared blankly while the 133-page verdict was being read out. The old, bearded men were in pale-hued Panjabis and prayer caps.
Five of the six war crimes charges brought against Siraj Master have been proven beyond doubt, while Akram was found guilty on one among the three charges.
Siraj will be hung by the neck or shot to death, the tribunal said about his execution, while Akram will be in prison until he dies naturally.
Abdul Latif Talukder, a member of the Razakar, was also indicted with these two. But the 75-year-old died on Jul 27 which put an end to his trial.
As the war began, Siraj Master, Khan Akram and Talukder joined the ‘Razakars’, the vigilante militia group, to assist the Pakistani Army against liberation fighters.
They were trained by the Pakistanis at Khulna’s Ansar Camp, said the prosecution’s investigation agency.
They collected weapons and ammunition from the Pakistani troops to unleash a campaign of murders, mass killings, pillage, and forced conversion of Hindus in different parts of Bagerhat with other Razakars.
Siraj is the 16th war criminal to have been given the maximum penalty, among the 24 convicted in 21 cases.
Born at Bagerhat’s Mirzapur in 1942, Siraj Master, who taught at a school before the war, came to be known as ‘Butcher Siraj’ for the way he used bayonets to slit the throats of countless victims during 1971.
Twelve including Siraj was accused of six crimes including the killing of 42 people and torching of homes at Shankhari Bazar in a case filed with Kachua police. Siraj has been found guilty of that charge.
Nimai Chadra Das, son of Jitendra Nath Das who was killed in the massacre, had filed the case in 2009.
Crimes and punishment
Charge 1 ( Guilty )
Fifty to sixty Razakars led by Siraj Master and Rajab Ali Fakir surrounded the village of Ranjitpur on May 13, 1971. Siraj and his associates massacred almost 40 to 50 Hindus while looting and torching their homes.
Sentence: Death penalty
Charge 2 (Guilty)
Around 2,000-3,000 Hindu men and women, on way to refugee camps in India, were gathered at a temple in Bangerhat's Rampal on May 21, 1971. Thirty to 40 armed Razakars led by Siraj Master and Rajab Ali Fakir got the news and began firing indiscriminately at Dakra village. The men killed 600 to 700 people at the Kali temple between 3pm and 5pm.
Sentence: Death penalty
Charge 3 (Guilty)
Twenty people were abducted on June 18, 17 by Siraj Master who led around 20 to 25 Pakistani soldiers and 30 to 35 armed Razakars to Besargati, Kandarparhi village and Kandaparha Bazaar. Among the abductees held captive at Kandaparha Bazaar, 19 died from torture.
Sentence: Death penalty
Charge 4 (Guilty)
Almost 150 armed Razakars led by Siraj Master and Rajab Ali Fakir attacked, set fire to and looted 42 houses at Chulkathi village, Chulkathi Bazaar, Ganashempur and surrounding areas on Oct 14, 1971. Seven people were tortured to death at Chulkathi Bazaar where they were being held captive after being abducted.
Sentence: Death penalty
Charge 5 (Siraj Master – Guilty; Khan Akram- Acquitted)
Forty Hindus were killed and two liberation supporters bayoneted to death when 50 to 60 Razakars led by Siraj Master, local Razakar leader Khan Akram Hossain and Abdul Latif Talukder attacked Shankharikathi Ghat on Nov 5, 1971.
Sentence: Death penalty
Charge 6 (Not guilty)
On Oct 22, Siraj Master, Khan Akram Hossain and Abdul Latif Talukder planned the abduction of five known liberation seekers Satindra Chandra Mandal of Tengratali, Babu Khan of Kachua, Nazrul Islam Sheikh and Manindranath Saha of Baruikhali and Hashem Ali Sheikh.
The five were taken from their homes and detained at the Razakar Camp at Kachua Sadar. They were shot and their bodies thrown into a nearby river after Siraj Master ordered their death.
Sentence: Both acquitted
Charge 7 (Guilty)
Freedom fighter Fazlur Rahman Sikder, heading home from Bhatkhali Camp with four others, was caught by Razakars including Khan Akram Hossain and Abdul Latif Talukder at Morelganj on Dec 13, 1971.
The guerrilla fighter was tortured and shot near a river.
Sentence: Imprisonment until death for Khan Akram Hossain
