Shukharanjan Bali, a key defence witness for late Jamaat-e-Islami leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee, on Thursday filed a written complaint accusing former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and 31 others of enforced disappearance, abduction, torture, and illegal transfer to India.
Bali submitted the complaint to the office of the chief prosecutor, alleging that he was abducted from the International Crimes Tribunal gate during the ousted Awami League鈥檚 government in November 2012 after refusing to give false testimony against Sayedee. He came to the ICT to testify as a defence witness from where he was abducted and became a victim of enforced disappearance.
According to the complaint, Bali was held in a secret detention centre, where he was blindfolded, handcuffed, and tortured. He was then forcibly transported to India where he remained in Damdam jail for five years. He was handed over to Border Security Force through the Boikari Bazar border near Basirhat.
His location was eventually discovered by Sayedee鈥檚 son, Masud Sayedee, who traced him to an Indian prison and arranged for Bali鈥檚 son to visit him and confirm his identity. Bali was later released following pressure from local and international human rights groups.
Bali alleged that after returning to Bangladesh, he was too afraid to stay at his village and has since remained in hiding. He came to the tribunal to file the complaint from his undisclosed location, accompanied by Parvez Hossain, a lawyer linked to Jamaat.
The complaint names several high-profile individuals, including former chief justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, former ICT-1 chairman Md Nizamul Haq, former law minister Shafique Ahmed, former state minister for law Qamrul Islam, ICT-1 member ATM Fazle Rabbi, Sayedee case investigator Helal Uddin, former prosecutors Syed Haider Ali and Rana Das Gupta, and investigation agency coordinator M Sanaul Haque.
Former AL lawmaker AKM Awal, former Pirojpur district public prosecutor Alauddin, several local Awami League leaders and activists also named in the list of the accused.
Bali accused the AL leaders of threatening, intimidating, and torturing him to force false testimony against Sayedee.
