A Dhaka tribunal is set to deliver its verdict on war crimes charges against former Chhatra Shibir leader Md Abdus Sattar alias Tipu Sultan on Wednesday.
Tipu Sultan from Boalia in Rajshahi has been charged with two counts of crimes against humanity including torture, looting and killings during the Liberation War.
In a decision on Tuesday, a three-member panel of the International Crimes Tribunal led by Justice Shahinur Islam announced the date for the verdict.
The tribunal deferred the verdict for further deliberation on October 17 after hearing the arguments of both sides in the case.
Prosecutors Md Mokhlesur Rahman Badal and Jahid Imam represented the state while lawyer Gazi MH Tamim appeared for the defendant.
The prosecution appealed for a death penalty for the accused during the hearing, claiming that it was successful in proving the allegations against Tipu Sultan.
“The accused was charged with killing ten people in Boalia, torturing two persons in captivity for a long time, looting and launching arson attacks on 13 houses during the Liberation War,” bdnews24.com reported quoting Badal.
On the other hand, Tipu’s legal counsel Tamim cast doubt on the credibility of the proof in the case and said the allegation against the suspect was that he was just present when the victims were picked up.
“But the prosecution could not submit any proof on what happened to the victims after that. The accused was charged just due to the political rivalry.”
“I appealed for his acquittal.”
Who is Tipu Sultan?
Tipu Sultan is known to many as ‘Tipu Razakar’ or a collaborator for his role during the 1971 war. He is the only one living among the group of local collaborators who assisted the genocide at Rajshahi University by the Pakistani occupation force at the beginning of the Liberation War, according to the prosecution.
He was a local activist of Islami Chhatra Sangha, which later changed its name to Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, after the independence of the country. Tipu was active in Chhatra Shibir too.
There has been no information about Tipu Sultan involved in political activities after 1984 but he is locally known as a Jamaat-e-Islami supporter.
Completing his study from the Islamic History and Culture Department in Rajshahi University, he joined the Gopalpur Degree College as an assistant professor in 1984 and retired in 2011.
Tipu Sultan was arrested on August 10, 1974, but was released later. He was again arrested on January 01, 2017, by the police in a case under the Explosives Act. Later, he was shown arrested in a war crime case.
