Local Jamaat-e-Islami leaders and activists obstructed the funeral and burial of Manik Pashari, a complainant and key prosecution witness in the crimes against humanity case against late Jamaat leader Delwar Hossain Sayedee, following his death on Saturday.
Pashari died in Gopalganj on Saturday morning aged 87.
Pashari, who had been in hiding since 5 August 2024 due to security concerns, died around 10:00 am whilst staying at his son-in-law’s home in Tungipara, Gopalganj, following a two-month illness.
When his mortal remains arrived at the Pirojpur Sadar Upazila Parishad premises on Saturday afternoon for state honours, local Jamaat leaders and activists gathered to block both the ceremony and his burial.
In response, the upazila administration hastily escorted the ambulance to the security of the Pirojpur Police Lines.
Journalists and members of the public were barred from entering the Police Lines on security grounds.
However, official sources later confirmed that Pashari, a gazetted freedom fighter, was accorded a guard of honour in a private, unannounced ceremony inside the Police Lines before his body was handed over to his family.
Uncertainty continues to surround his final resting place. Plans to convey his body to his ancestral home in Chitalia village, under Shankarpasha Union, hit a stalemate as Jamaat activists and supporters staged further demonstrations and blocked access roads along the route from the Police Lines.
“Manik Pashari is a fake freedom fighter; he will not be allowed a guard of honour under any circumstances, nor will his body be buried on the soil of Pirojpur,” declared Pirojpur District Jamaat Assistant Secretary Abdur Razzaq.
Despite the opposition, Pirojpur Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Iftekharul Islam Shamim and Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md Shariful Islam confirmed that full state honours were accorded, adding that further administrative and legal steps are currently underway.
Family members of the deceased lamented at the local administration’s handling of the situation.
Manik Pashari’s son-in-law, Faruq Hossain, revealed that although the 87-year-old gazetted freedom fighter died at 10:00am, family members were made to wait until 5:00pm after approaching the Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) for state honours.
He alleged that Pashari’s body was left in a standard ambulance without ice or preservation for over four hours before being given a hasty, secretive guard of honour, adding that the UNO offered no assistance or guidance regarding burial arrangements amidst the mounting hostility.
On 12 August 2009, Pashari filed the initial case against Sayedee and four others over atrocities committed during the 1971 Liberation War, a complaint that was subsequently incorporated into the core prosecution before the International Crimes Tribunal.
During Sayedee’s trial, Pashari appeared before the tribunal as prosecution witness 6 and testified against the Jamaat leader.
He claimed to have witnessed the incidents in question.
Sayedee was convicted of crimes against humanity committed during the 1971 Liberation War. His death sentence was later commuted to imprisonment until death by the Supreme Court. He died in August 2023.
