The 7th April is Kurigram Jail Killing Day. In the
liberation war’71, Pakistani Army entered Kurigram on April 7, 1971 and at
first brutally killed five Jail-keepers of Kurigram Sub-Jail (now district
jail) on the day.
Five
jail-keepers including Acting Sub-Jailor were killed brutally by Pakistani
invader army on the 7th April of 1971. They were the first
martyrs of Kurigram in the liberation war’71. All of the jail employees were
Bangali (Bangladeshi) citizens.
Four
of the martyrs were laid to rest in Kurigram Jail area while Acting Sub-Jailor
was graved about 13 meters far from the jail boundary wall (outside the jail
campus).
The
martyr jail-keepers were Jail Assistant (Acting Sub-Jailor) Hedayet Ullah,
Jail-keepers Lal Mohammad Pramanik, Ansar Ali Akanda, Sajjad Hossen and Fakar
Uddin.
The
acting sub-jailor Hedayet Ullah was an inhabitant of Manirgaon village under
Rumganj upazila of Laxmipur district. His family set up a memorial stone in
front of the main jail gate with the permission of Kurigram municipality in
2010.
Kurigram
municipality authority has mentioned the name of ‘Circuit House to Kurigram
Jail’ road as Shaheed Hedayet Ullah Road.
Eye-witness
and freedom fighter Harun Ar Rashid Lal said that Pakistani Army entered
Kurigram on April 7 of 1971 and first attacked the Kurigram Sub-Jail. In the
afternoon, the army men held six jail-keepers including Acting Sub-Jailor. The
army men made one file of the jail-keepers under a Krisnatura tree
nearby the sub-jail and shot them at around 5:30 pm.
All
of them received bullets. Jail-keepers Lal Mohammad Pramanik, Ansar Ali Akanda,
Sajjad Hossen and Fakar Uddin died on the spot while Acting Sub-Jailor Hedayet
Ullah and jail-keeper Abdul Jalil Paiker were injured seriously.
“The
day was the most alarming day for Kurigram people. All people went away from
their houses. Then I was a student. At the night, I along my friends Matiur
Rahman Chawdhury Naya and Rajob Ali jointly recovered all bodies including the
injured.
Hedayet
Ullah died at the night (12:15 am on April 8) in his staff quarter. At the
night, He was laid to rest in front of former Kurigram municipality chairman
Abdus Salam’s residence in fear of Pak army. His graveyard is situated around
50 meters far from the boundary wall of Kurigram District Jail.
At
the night, the injured Abdul Jalil Paiker was sent to local physician Dr. Safar
Uddin, resident of Kaley village (Kurigram Railway Station Para) under Kurigram
Sadar thana, with the help of school teacher Shahadat Hossain (Moni Master).
After one week of the incident, Dr. Safar Uddin was shot dead near his resident
by Pak Army. After some days, Abdul Jalil Paiker returned home (Bogura
district) after being semi-cured in Moni Master’s residence (in Kaley village).
At
around 10:00 am on the day (April 8) while Pak army went away from the spot,
four jail-keepers’ bodies with uniforms (without white cloths) were laid to
rest in Muslim manner (with Janaja) near Jail-keeper’s barrack-houses and
beside the East-perimeter wall of Kurigram Jail by some locals including the
rescuers. No cloth shop had been open on the day.
After
40 years of the liberation war, at first a local NGO ‘Solidarity’ had taken a
short programme to mark Kurigram Jail Killing Day on April 7, 2012. Freedom
fighter Harun Ar Rashid Lal is the Executive Director of the Solidarity.
“They
(jail-keepers) were the first martyrs of Kurigram in the liberation war’71. I
feel they should be memorised officially through recognising as martyr freedom
fighters. Governmental initiative is needed for this,” Harun Ar Rashid Lal said.
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