2 Jamaat men arrested over war crime charges...............

Police said they arrested two Jamaat-e-Islami activists from Mohanpur Upazila early Friday morning in a case that charged them with war crimes.

Officer in charge of Mohanpur Police Station Asaduzzaman Milon said Daud Hossain, 70, and Noor Anwar, 65, were picked up from their homes in Dyeing Para-Berabari area.

It is the first instance in the country where alleged war criminals were arrested in a regular case, said Shahabuddin Khan, superintendent of police of Rajshahi.

Mejarul Sheikh, a day-labourer, of Birsorail area under Shah Makhdum Police Station filed the case. Mejarul is the son of a martyred freedom fighter Bashir Uddin Sheikh, said Milon, the OC.

They were activists involved with Jamaat-e-Islami politics, he said.

Mejarul lodged a first information report against 22 alleged war criminals with Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court, Rajshahi, on June 22, 2007.

The court ordered the Mohanpur police to take legal steps against the accused.

Police recorded the first information report as a case on Sept. 13 after investigation.

According to the report, Shafiullah, who joined the Razakar—collaborators of Pakistan occupation army—after March 25, 1971, had drafted in 18 more people. Most of the accused are supporters of BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami.

During the independence war in 1971, they were involved with looting and murder of innocent people with assistance of invading Pakistani forces, said the FIR.

Pakistani forces with the help of the collaborators captured 15 freedom fighters on Nov. 30, 1971 and shot them, blindfolded and hands tied, dead.

"The arrestees confessed that they joined collaborators' forces during the liberation war in 1971," Khan, the SP, told us.

He added police had been ordered to arrest the rest 17 accused without delay.

Rupjan Begum, wife of martyred freedom fighter Moej Uddin of Berabari, came to the police station on the news.

She said her husband had never returned home after Daud and others had taken him away during the war.

She was happy over the arrest of collaborators after a long time, she said and added she would like see those 'war criminals' tried in her lifetime.