Lalmonirhat killing grounds about to be obliterated
Witness to the gruesome killing of about 600 innocent people by Pakistan occupation army on April 5, 1971, this place beside Lalmonirhar railway station now has no sign of cognizance. Eleven other killing grounds in the district are also on the verge of obliteration.Photo: STAR
At least 12 killing grounds (bodhyabhumi), where hundreds of Bangalees were massacred by the Pakistan occupation forces during the War of Liberation in 1971, are about to be obliterated due to neglect by the authorities. No government or non-government initiatives have been taken to preserve or renovate the killing grounds in four upazilas of the district, local people and freedoms fighters said. Lalmonirhat District Muktijoddha Sangsad said it identified 12 killing grounds in the district which have almost vanished or lost area mark. As it was a bordering district, thousands of people fleeing from different areas of the country gathered in Lalmonirhat town and adjoining areas for safety and shelter during 1971 war. But a large number of them were slain by the occupation forces and their cohorts. One of the main killing grounds of the district was 'railway rickshaw stand bodhyabhumi' in the town. On April 5, Pakistan Army killed about 600 people who were picked up from different places. The victims were buried near the Railway office at Railway Colony. Over 200 skeletons, bones and skulls were recovered from the mass graves in the area soon after the independence. Khedabagh mass grave in Lalmonirhat Sadar has almost been grabbed and a number of houses have already been built there. Over 200 people, who were fleeing to India, met their tragic end when Pakistan Army opened fire on them near Barobari Bazar on April 25, 1971. There is no sign of any mass grave at Khochabari village in the town now where nine innocent potters were brutally killed and buried on April 28, 1971 by Pakistani forces, said freedom fighter Syed Ali of the village. The mass grave near Doljor Dola Railway Bridge in Aditmari upazila has also been grabbed by locals. At least 52 people including two freedom fighters lost their lives in a fierce firing on June 8, 1971 at Saptibari union of the upazila. The other mass graves at Saheb Para in the town, Bhelabari, Polashi and Mishkhocha villages of Aditmari upazila, Bhotmari and Dolgram villages of Kaliganj upazila, Goddimari and Barokhata villages of Hatibandha upazila are also lying uncared for. The occupations forces and their collaborators killed over 250 innocent people and buried them at the abovementioned spots during the War of Liberation in 1971, local freedom fighters said. Talking to this correspondent, Lalmonirhat District Muktijoddha Sangsad Commander Yousuf Ali urged the authorities to build memorials at the mass graves. The memories of the heroic sons of the soils must be kept alive for the sake of future generations, he said. "I placed the demand at least four times in the last three years before the ministry concerned, but to no effect," he lamented.
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