Dhaka: Sukharanjan Bali, who was allegedly abducted from the main gate of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) before he could testify in the crimes against humanity case against Jamaat leader Delwar Hossain Sayedee, has filed allegations with the tribunal against 32 individuals, including ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Sukharanjan submitted the allegations to the office of the ICT chief prosecutor this morning. The accused in the allegations also include former chief justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, former ICT chairmen Justices Nizamul Haque and ATM Fazle Kabir, former law minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed, former state minister for law Advocate Qamrul Islam, former ICT chief prosecutor Syed Haider Ali, former prosecutor Rana Das Gupta, former coordinator of the ICT investigation agency Md Sanaul Haque, former ICT investigation officer Helal Uddin, and former lawmaker AKM Abdul Awal.
Sukharanjan, a carpenter from Umedpur village under Parerhat union in Indurkani upazila of Pirojpur, was listed as a defense witness for Sayedee. He alleged that law enforcement agencies picked him up on November 5, 2012, from outside the tribunal premises while he was being escorted by defense lawyers to testify.
He claimed that he had been summoned earlier by ICT investigation officer Helal Uddin in mid-2010 at Parerhat Rajlokkhi School in Pirojpur, where he was pressured to falsely implicate Sayedee in the 1971 killing of his brother Bisha Bali. Sukharanjan stated that he refused to give false testimony against Sayedee and was subsequently assaulted.
Sukharanjan further alleged that local political leaders and their followers also beat and threatened him, prompting him to go into hiding. Months later, Sayedee’s son, Masud Sayedee, contacted him to testify truthfully before the tribunal. Upon arriving in Dhaka on November 3, 2012, he was abducted by plainclothes men two days later from outside the tribunal gate.
He recounted that he was blindfolded, kept in different locations, and tortured for two months before being handed over to the Indian frontier force BSF. He was then taken to a camp at Boikari Bazar in West Bengal, beaten, and later sent to Bashirhat Jail for 22 days, followed by a five-year confinement in Dumdum Jail.
Sukharanjan stated that he endured this ordeal because he was willing to tell the truth. He emphasized that Delwar Hossain Sayedee was falsely implicated in the case and that he was aware of who actually killed his brother. However, his refusal to lie led to a harrowing six-year ordeal.