Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Mollah directly took part in the killing of 60 Bangalees at Ghatarchar in Keraniganj, on the outskirts of the capital, on November 25, 1971, a prosecution witness said on Wednesday.

Abdul Majid Palowan, a resident of Ghatarchar, gave his deposition before International Crimes Tribunal-2 as the seventh witness in the war crimes case against the Jamaat leader.

Mollah is facing six charges of crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the 1971 Liberation War.

During his testimony, the witness said he woke up hearing heavy gunfire during the early morning on November 25, 1971 and moved towards nearby Ghatarchar School where the sound was coming from.

He hid himself behind a tree and saw that a team of Pakistani army were firing on people, he said adding that there were some people in punjabi-pajama including Mollah with the army.

Mollah, who had a rifle in his hand, also fired on the people on the school premises, the witness told the court in presence of the Jamaat leader.

“The firing continued till 11:00am,” he said.

A total of 60 people from Muslim and Hindu communities were killed on the school premises that day, he added.

The three-member tribunal headed by Justice ATM Fazle Kabir also recorded cross-examination of the witness by defence before adjourning the case proceeding until August 12.

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