Abul Kalam Azad (politician, born 1947)

Abul Kalam Azad (Bachchu) (born March 5, 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who was once a "rokan" (member) of Jamaat-e-Islami. He is widely known as 'Bachchu Razakar', in respect of the role he played during the 1971 liberation war of Bangladesh.

He was indicted by The International Crimes Tribunal-2 of Bangladesh with charges of crimes against humanity, including genocide, murders, rapes committed during the Liberation War.

On January 21, 2013 Azad was awarded with death penalty because of the crimes he committed during the 1971 Liberation

The trial was held in absentia because Azad went into hiding around seven hours before Tribunal-2 issued an arrest warrant against him on April 3, 2012.

Early life

Azad, son of Abdus Salam Mia of Barakhardia village under Saltha Police Station of Faridpur, was born on March 5, 1947, and was a student of Rajendra College in Faridpur.

During the Liberation war of 1971, he was a close associate of Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, the then president of East Pakistan Islami Chhatra Sangha and till the formation of the Razakar force, he is known to have actively aided the Pakistani army in committing criminal acts.

Bangladesh Liberation War 1971

During the war of liberation in 1971, Azad assisted the Pakistani occupation force initially in the capacity of Razakar and subsequently as the chief of Al-Badr force in Faridpur. He could speak Urdu well as he studied in a madrasa and he was a close associate of the Pakistani army and actively participated and substantially assisted them in committing atrocities on the civilians, the Hindu community and pro-liberation Bangalee people.

Investigators claim to have identified 14 people murdered by Bachchu, three of whom were raped and nine of those who were abducted. The investigation agency also said that Bachchu had burnt down at least five houses, looted 15 and forced at least nine persons to convert to Islam.

After the war

After the war, Azad somehow emerged as an Islamic cleric. He even had his own TV show where he was an anchor explaining Islamic virtues.