The investigation officer was the 23rd witness in the case, in which two former police officers are accused alongside Hasanat Abdullah and former Barishal SP AKM Ehsan Ullah.
A file photo of Abul Hasnat Abdullah. Photo: Collected
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A file photo of Abul Hasnat Abdullah. Photo: Collected
The testimony of the investigation officer has concluded in a crimes against humanity case against former Awami League lawmaker Abul Hasanat Abdullah and three others over the staged crossfire killings of two Chhatra Dal and Jasas leaders in Barishal in 2015.
The International Crimes Tribunal has set 7 December for closing arguments by the prosecution and defence.
The Tribunal-2 fixed the date today (12 November) after Amir Hossain, state-appointed counsel for two fugitive accused, cross-examined investigation officer Md Moktadir Hossain, the case’s 23rd witness.
The victims were Tipu Hawlader, joint general secretary of Agailjhara upazila Chhatra Dal, and Kabir Molla, organising secretary of the upazila Jatiyatabadi Samajik Sangskritik Sangstha (Jasas).
According to the prosecution, Hasanat Abdullah allegedly planned their elimination, considering them political rivals, while then Barishal Superintendent of Police AKM Ehsan Ullah executed the plan on his instructions.
Uzirpur police arrested the two men in fabricated cases on 20 February 2015. They were later allegedly killed in a staged crossfire beside the Agailjhara bypass road on the Gournadi-Gopalganj highway.
Chief Prosecutor Md Aminul Islam earlier told journalists that the two were initially arrested in a vehicle-burning case and brought to Dhaka before being taken to Barishal and killed at Bhodal in Agailjhara.
He said police tried to cover up the killings through general diary entries and autopsies. The post-mortem reports, which recorded bullet injuries, are now being used as evidence against the accused, he added.
Of the four accused, Hasanat Abdullah and former SP Ehsan Ullah are absconding, while former Uzirpur police ASIs Md Mahabul Islam and Jasim Uddin are in jail.
The victims’ families filed a complaint with the tribunal’s investigation agency on 15 September 2025. The trial began on 20 May this year after the tribunal framed charges against the accused.
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