The Chief Prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), Mohammad Tajul Islam, likened the 2024 crackdown in the capital's Rampura area to the infamous "Black Night" of March 25, 1971. He made the comparison during his opening statement on Tuesday (January 20) in a crimes against humanity case involving the deaths of 28 people.
"Rampura was a hotspot of brutality during the anti-discrimination student movement," Tajul Islam told the tribunal. "Law enforcement personnel reportedly entered homes to shoot civilians, an unprecedented act in our history. Ensuring justice for these victims is a national priority."
Trial Proceedings and Witnesses Following the opening statement, the three-member ICT-1 panel, led by Chairman Justice Md. Golam Mortuza Majumder, began recording formal depositions. The first witness to testify was Biswajit Rajbangshi, whose father, Gangacharan Rajbangshi, was killed by BGB firing during the protests near the Rampura Bridge WASA Gate on July 18, 2024.
The tribunal has scheduled January 25 for the cross-examination of the witness.
Accused in the Case Two former Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) officers—Lieutenant Colonel Muhammad Redwanul Islam and Major Md. Rafat-bin-Alam Moon—were produced before the court under heavy security.
Two other accused, former Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) of Police Md. Rashedul Islam and former Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Rampura Police Station Md. Mashiur Rahman, remains absconding. The tribunal had previously issued arrest warrants and ordered the publication of notices in national newspapers for the fugitives to appear.
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