New Delhi: In 1971, Pakistan shed a lot of blood in Bangladesh (erstwhile East Pakistan). At the same time, India was fully cooperating to liberate Bangladesh. Pakistani army massacred Bengali nationalists and Hindus in Bangladesh. Mass massacres were carried out at many places in Bangladesh, one of which includes the massacre of Sohagpur village in Sherpur.

According to a report, on the night of 25 July 1971, the Pakistani army had shed the blood of Hindus in Sohagpur village of Sherpur, Bangladesh. They killed 164 men and raped 57 women in a single night. Some local people also cooperated with the Pakistani army in this. After this massacre, there were no men left in Sohagpur village. For the last 51 years, this village is known as the village of widows.

Even today more than 50 women in Sohagpur village are living witnesses of the brutal massacre by the Pakistani army. The life of the people in Sohagpur was going on peacefully, but that night the brutality of the Pakistani army ruined the entire village. After the brutal murder of 164 men of the village, brutality was also done with the women and then the screams and voices of the victims were also suppressed.

The horrors of this incident are still alive in the hearts of those widows, whose trauma they have been bearing for many years. However, in 2014, they got some relief when the International Criminal Tribunal sentenced only one of their culprits to death. The ruling Awami League (AL) set up the tribunal as part of its election pledge to try war criminals. A woman told the court, on the condition of anonymity, the fateful night when her husband was murdered in front of her eyes.

Another eyewitness also narrated his ordeal and how he ran to save his life. When he returned home after the violence, he found the bodies of 11 people including his father lying there. Recalling the incident, he wept bitterly and demanded capital punishment for the murderers of his father and relatives.

The Pakistani army was helped by the local people to carry out this massacre. Among them were Kamruzzaman, leader of the controversial Islamist party Jamaat, and his associates. In spite of carrying out their nefarious designs with the Pakistani army, these people continued to live comfortably in Bangladesh for almost 40 years even after the independence of Bangladesh. On 15 August 1975, some junior rebel officers of the Bangladeshi army attacked Rashtrapati Bhavan (the residence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman) with a tank. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was killed along with 19 family members in this attack. This incident was called an international conspiracy.

The country's first military dictator, General Ziaur Rahman, instead of punishing these criminals, helped strengthen their political influence. Even under his eye, such cases were suppressed. Which was probably the biggest incentive for hundreds of war criminals like Kamaruzzaman. At the same time, the formation of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) by General Ziaur Rahman was also a major step in consolidating his hold on power.

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