Pakistani army started genocide in March in Rangpur

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RANGPUR, March 29, 2019 (BSS) – The Pakistani occupation army started
planning for committing continuous genocide across the country, including
Rangpur, clearly understanding nerve of the independence-seeker Bangalees
since volatile March in 1971.

“Cancelation of March 3, 1971 scheduled parliament sitting and declaration
of curfew on the day by hatred Yahiya Khan on March 1 instantly turned
Rangpur people extremely angry,” said former District Muktijoddha Commander
Mosaddek Hossain Bablu.

In line with nerve of the Bangalees, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman strongly rejected cancellation of the scheduled
parliament session with huge hatred and called strike on March 2 in Dhaka and
on March 3 across the country.

Tens of thousands of Bangalees brought out massive protest processions on
the streets of Rangpur breaking curfew as part of the nationwide non-
cooperation movements against the Pakistani regime and sacrificed three brave
sons on March 3 in the city.

“The occupation forces got terrifically frightened when thousands of
Bangalees broke curfew in Rangpur city sacrificing three heroic sons Sangku
Samajhder, Abul Kalam Azad and Omar Ali on March 3, 1971,” Bablu said.

“Since then, the occupation forces started planning for committing genocide
of intellectuals, politicians, Musollis and common people irrespective of
caste, creed and religion to eliminate the Bengali nation from this fertile
soil,” Bablu mentioned.

According to the book ‘Mukitjuddhe Rangpur’ written by freedom fighter
Mukul Mostafizur Rahman, the Pakistani hyenas with local collaborators,
including Beharis, caught 11 brilliant Bangalee intellectuals and took to
Rangpur Cantonment on March 27, 1971.

Later on April 4, 1971, the Pakistani occupation forces with their local
collaborators took them to ‘Dakhiganj Shwashan’ in the city and gunned them
down to make the Bengali nation talentless.

One of them, the then Awami League leader Dr Dinesh Chandra Bhowmick alias
Mantu Daktar, who received severe injuries as eight bullets penetrated his
body, luckily escaped death despite indiscriminate firing at him along with
others.

“Later, he joined the Mukti Bahini after getting proper treatments in
India and fought the War of Liberation to liberate the country,” the book
writes.

The 10 martyrs are Advocate Mahfuz Ali Zorjes, Durga Das Adhikari,
Dhirendranath Shanti Chaki, Khitish Halder, Gopal Chandra, Ehsanul Haque
Dulal, Tofazzal Hossain Moharram, Rafikul Islam Rafique, Uttam Kumar Adhikari
and Pagla Darbesh.

As per their monstrous plan, the occupation forces committed genocide of 32
Musollis at Lahirirhat in the outskirts of the city after Juma prayers on May
7, 1971 uncovering their masks revealing real faces toward Islam, the
religion of peace.

The Lahirirhat genocide helped common people to easily understand the false
propaganda conducted by the Pakistani occupation forces as well as Pakistani
government of saving Islam from the enemies.

The book ‘Mukitjuddhe Rangpurer Itihas’ published by Rangpur district
administration has elaborately narrated genocide of the 32 local Musollis
with their identities.

“The occupation forces with local collaborators came by four trucks and got
down in front of Lahirirhat Mosque and soon started catching the Musollis
just after the Friday Juma prayers on May 7, 1971,” said local eye-witnesses
Rafiul Islam.

“After catching, the occupation forces started torturing the innocent
Musollis, who repeatedly claimed with indescribable fear in minds that they
were Muslims and came to the mosque for offering Juma prayers, in last bid to
save their lives,” Islam added.

Another eye-witnesses Matiar Rahman of Lahirirhat said the Pakistani army
took the Musollis to the nearby pond, forced them to stand in four rows,
opened brass fires killing them on the spot and buried them into a mass grave
there at Lahirirhat near a pond.

The then political and student leaders played most vital roles in
organising the War of Liberation against the Pakistani occupation forces in
Rangpur region,” freedom fighter Shawkat Ali Sarker, Bir Bikram, told BSS.