Investigating officer cross-examined in Zia case at tribunal, calls lawyer's claim about Alkas Mallik false

The cross-examination of the investigating officer in the crimes-against-humanity case over more than a hundred enforced disappearances and killings during the Awami League government's rule continued for a ninth day. On Tuesday (10 November), investigating officer Md Rafiqul Islam was cross-examined before the single bench of Justice Md Mohitul Haque Enam Chowdhury, a member of International Crimes Tribunal-1. Rafiqul has testified as the 15th witness in the case.

The accused in the case is Major General (retired) Ziaul Ahsan. During the cross-examination, Ziaul's lawyer Shahidur Rahman claimed that the victim, the late Alkas Mallik, was a forest bandit. He claimed that Ziaul Ahsan had no connection with the crossfire incident involving boatman Alkas Mallik.

Investigating officer Md Rafiqul Islam, however, said the lawyer's claims are false.

At one stage of the cross-examination, Ziaul Ahsan's lawyer Shahidur Rahman asked about various operations by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). In reply, Rafiqul Islam said it did not come out in the investigation which members of RAB-8, in plain clothes, went to Char Duani Bazar in Patharghata upazila of Barguna before various operations and told shopkeepers to close their shops by evening. He said he also could not identify the trawlers used in the operations, because those trawlers no longer exist.

Asked about the victim Alkas Mallik, the investigating officer said the investigation found that a RAB member phoned Alkas Mallik and called him over. But he did not know the name and address of that RAB member.

As he did not have Alkas's phone number, he did not approach the telephone office to identify the person who phoned and called him over. Nor did he take the help of any other intelligence agency.

In addition, the investigating officer could not say who was the officer-in-charge or the duty officer of Patharghata Police Station at the date and time Alkas Mallik was called over. He also did not know who had investigated the general diary (GD) of the police station on the matter.

The investigating officer further said he could not find out in the investigation under what names Alkas Mallik's two trawlers operated at sea. During the investigation, he did not visit the office of the Patharghata upazila fisheries officer either.

At this point, Ziaul Ahsan's lawyer claimed that Alkas Mallik was not called over from his home. He said Alkas was a forest bandit as a member of the Raju Bahini, and that Ziaul Ahsan was not involved in his crossfire incident either.

The investigating officer said it did not come out in the investigation which members of RAB-8 arranged trawlers and went to the Char Duani ghat in Patharghata. According to the 13th witness, four members of the intelligence wing took part in the operation, but they too could not be identified during the investigation. Nor could it be established which members of the intelligence wing attached to RAB-8 took part in the other operations described by that witness.