Army killed 2,500 in Rangpur town alone.
From PRADEEP DASGUPTA DHUBRI, APRIL, 7- President Yahya’s Army which is now virtually confined in Nishatganj-Dhap cantonment cracked down on the district town of Rangpur at night of March 25, according to BanglaDesh leaders who came to the Indian border post at Sonahat from Kurigram on Monday.
Before the Army could rap the town they themselves were given a few severe raps by the armed police having their allegiance to Mujib. The policemen fought valiantly for about an Hour and darted fatal blows on a number of Yahya’s mercenaries following which koowaad with all its residenary arms and ammunition fell to the Army.
Immediately after the incident the Martial Law Administration clamped 72 hours curfew on the town while mercenaries went into their heinous commission – loot, arson and mass killing.
In their three-day back of the town the Army killed nearly 2500 people, plundered bazaar areas and burnt many houses and installations. They mercifully relaxed the curfew by two to three hours a day.
With partial withdrawal of curfew the Martial Law Administration ordered that all officers, governmental or mercantile, should function “normally”. Officers were open under duress. Attendance was naturally nominal and no employee was in a mood to function. It was found that the District Magistrate, Mr. Samin Ahsan himself had gone underground.
But the relaxation of curfew restrictions seemed to inspire the civilian population of Rangpur to play truant to the Army Administration. They availed themselves of the opportunity to flee town or at least to evacuate their children and womenfolk. Many women had been abducted and many children killed.
Such incidents also synchronized with the penetration of Army into villages, Hoping of 1,000 and old mercenaries, camped in Nispeigranj-Dhap cantonment, spread out in rural areas, neighboring Rangpur town to indulge in their predatory operations.
The Army camped in Rangpur area is understood to have 200 to 300 Bengali personnel, some of which are tank drivers. But significantly commanders of the detachments have not so far deployed them diemily out of fear that they fought the Mukti Fouz with all their equipment Those Bengali soldiers are now held in detention.
Army authorities became cautious about Bengali soldiers presumably because Mujib’s force in Kurigram subdivision was now being commandeered by a fugitive captain of the Army General Brehun-who escaped from the Rangpur cantonment. On the other hand in March Bengali castes of East Pakistan Rifles stationed at border post killed as many Punjab EPR men. . I met some Bangladeshi soldiers yesterday at Sonahat. They told me several actions of the rural people’s being struggles against Yahya’s borders. On March 27 it was a weekly market day at Nishatganj. There were some Army men apparently shopping. Shopkeepers detected them and refused to sell any commodity to them. About 1,400 villagers with whatever they got handy and the Army had to retreat. The Army men, however returned in much increased strength hours later and fell on the people of the villagers.
At Baldipukur village five miles from ARR Clehael college on the outskirts of Rangpur town there is a Christian Mission. The Army in their unprovoked swoop on the mission compound first rampaged the houses and installations and then burnt them all. Some inmates were killed. This incident took place on April 2 or 3.
At Haragachh village eight or nine miles from Rangpur, Santhals with their bows and arrows severely rapped the Army as it later intruded into their village.
On April 2 some military people from Rangpur approached Kaonia police station and asked the officer-in-charge to guide them to Teesta Bridge. The police officer not only refused to cooperate but asked his constables to fire on the military people. In the fighting the officer-in-charge was killed.
On their march towards Kurigram on April 2 some Army men in a jeep approached some boatmen and ordered them to ferry them and their vehicle across the Teesta. After dilly-dallying for a considerable time the boatmen agreed to ferry them but in the mid-stream they cleverly sank the boat. At least eight Army men were drowned. Another army truck was damaged on way to Tessta Bridge from Rangpur cantonment which infurlated the Army people who then entered adjacent villages and lynched innocent villagers.
Putting hurdles on the Army’s way by villagers are common means of resistance everywhere in Rangpur district. Army men have to take great pains to remove them and carry on their march. When hurdles are irremovable they abandon their vehicles and enter nearby villages. On April 4 people of Motihari put roadblocks to halt the march of the military. The Army men reached it by burning two villages completely and killing people at random.
Mr. Mohammed Ali circle officer of Brumgahuti in Körigram sub-division told me that sympathy and support received from their brethren in India boosted the moral of the people of BanglaDesh and the news of retreating of the Army from Teesta Bridge further encouraged them to carry on their struggle for liberation.
Reference: Hindustan Standard, 08.04.1971