Preparations were underway to bury freedom fighter Manik Pashari, a complainant in a crimes against humanity case against the late Jamaat leader Delwar Hossain Sayeedi, as his grave was being dug following daylong tension and complications surrounding the burial of his body.
His family initiated the burial preparations following a day of uncertainty and complications over the matter.
“My brother has passed away. Initially, we brought him for burial. But being unable to bury him, we fell into distress. Now we are preparing for the burial and digging the grave,” said his sister, Mosammat Rina Akhter.
Pashari, 87, was a resident of Ward No. 4 of Chitalia village under Shankarpasha union in Pirojpur Sadar upazila.
Family members said he died at around 10am on Saturday at a relative’s residence in the Tungipara area of Gopalganj, where he had been living after remaining in hiding for an extended period.
According to the family, Pashari took refuge at the house of his son-in-law in Tungipara following 5 August 2024, and had been suffering from physical illness for the past two months.
Following his death, his body was brought to Pirojpur on Saturday afternoon. When the body was taken to the Sadar Upazila Parishad premises to be accorded a guard of honour with state honours, local Jamaat leaders and activists gathered there.
Local sources said obstacles were subsequently created regarding the guard of honour and the burial.
Considering the situation, the ambulance carrying the body was taken to the Pirojpur Police Lines under police escort, where journalists and others were barred from entering citing security concerns.
Police and the administration later announced that Pashari had been given a guard of honour, though detailed information regarding when and where the honour was conferred was not available.
Family members alleged that they were in deep anxiety as they did not receive the necessary cooperation from the administration regarding the burial.
Manik Pashari’s son-in-law, Faruk Hossain, said they went to the Sadar upazila nirbahi officer at around 12pm, but were asked to wait until 5pm citing the guard of honour.
He alleged that the body was kept in an ordinary ambulance for a prolonged period and that a guard of honour was conferred in secret, leaving the family in uncertainty over where to bury him.
Local sources claimed that after the body was handed over to the family and an initiative was taken to bury him at his home, some local leaders, activists, and supporters gathered once again to mount an obstruction.
Crowds were also reported to have gathered at various points between the Police Lines and Shankarpasha.
Regarding the situation, Abdur Razzak, assistant secretary of Pirojpur district Jamaat, claimed that Pashari was a “fake freedom fighter.”
He added that Pashari would not be allowed to receive a guard of honour under any circumstances, and would not be allowed to be buried on the soil of Pirojpur.
Md Shariful Islam, officer-in-charge of Pirojpur Sadar Police Station, said a guard of honour had been accorded to Pashari and that subsequent legal proceedings were underway.
Md Iftekharul Islam Shamim, upazila nirbahi officer of Sadar, said Pashari had been given a guard of honour with state honours.
Earlier, on 12 August 2009, Pashari filed a case with Pirojpur Police Station against five persons, including Delwar Hossain Sayeedi, on charges of crimes against humanity committed during the 1971 Liberation War.
The case was later incorporated into the primary case against Sayeedi at the International Crimes Tribunal.
