Former brigadier general Abdullahil Amaan Azmi on Tuesday said that he was disappeared due to his anti-India writings on social media and as his father was Ghulam Azam, former chief of Jamaat-e-Islami who was convicted by the International Crimes Tribunal for his role in the War of Independence in 1971.
He made this complaint when he was virtually connected in a press conference at the National Press Club in the capital.
鈥楲ocked in a room, I was asked why I wrote against India鈥� 鈥淲hy are you speaking against India on Facebook?鈥� I was asked. This clearly explains why they kept me in the Aynaghor [secret detention centre],鈥檋e said.
Referring to the demand for avenging the murder of 57 army officers in the BDR mutiny in Pilkhana, he said, 鈥楾he edict in the Quran is murder has to be avenged by murder. I call for investigation and trial. Those who investigated in the past, they did it only in name of investigation. The murders should be fully investigated and action should be taken against the culprits.鈥�
He said that all the institutions of the country were destroyed and he believed that the new government would refurbish these institutions.
Regarding the War of Independence, Azmi said that country鈥檚 founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman published the number of martyrs of the liberation war without any survey and the nation still did not know the exact number of people martyred in the war of liberation.
Referring to a survey on the number of martyrs, he said, a survey was conducted in which the number of martyrs was known to be 2.86 lakh, but Sheikh Mujibur Rahman instead of saying three lakh said three million were killed.
At the press conference, Azmi said that the national anthem of Bangladesh should be rewritten.
鈥業ndia made the national anthem that is playing today. This national anthem was made to unite the two Bengals [Bangladesh and West Bengal of India]. Bangladesh has become independent so the national anthem of Bangladesh should be written anew,鈥� he said.
Narrating the incident of eight years of his enforced disappearance, he said, 鈥楾ime and again I thought they would kill me in crossfire. I used to say Tahajjud [a late night prayer] prayers at night and cried to Allah only鈥攎ay Allah not let my dead body become food for dogs. I used to pray this all the time for my body go to my family.鈥�
鈥榃hen they [who picked him] came to my house, I asked them 鈥淲ho are you? What is your identity? Show me your identity card.鈥� They did not answer me. I asked several questions and they didn鈥檛 answer a word. An officer addressed me as Tui [derogative for 鈥榶ou鈥橾. He treated me very bad,鈥� he said.
At one point they arrested him and took him to the car blindfolded, he said, adding that at that time they treated him with utter humiliation.
鈥業 came back and found out how much they tortured my family. They wanted to touch my wife. At one point, when they wanted to pick up my wife, she asked them to take my mother along with her, but they did not take her,鈥� Azmi said.
During that time they tortured their young housemaid and also assaulted everyone, including the house manager and security guard.
鈥業 was taken to a place blindfolded. They gave me clothes. At night they gave me food but I was not in a condition to eat. If I wanted to go to the toilet, they would take me blindfolded and handcuffed. I used to go to the toilet after walking around 50 steps,鈥� he said.
Following the fall of Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government on August 5 amid an unprecedented student-people uprising, Azmi was released on August 6.