Sayeedi case complainant accorded guard of honour amid protests in Pirojpur, grave allegedly backfilled

Allegations have been brought against local Jamaat-e-Islami leaders and activists of obstructing efforts to accord a guard of honour to a listed freedom fighter and complainant in the war crimes case against the late Delwar Hossain Sayeedi, former nayeb-e-ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.

However, Manik Posari was later accorded a guard of honour at the Pirojpur Police Lines on Saturday afternoon under tight police security.

Meanwhile, a grave dug for his burial in Chithalia village under Shankarpasha union of Pirojpur Sadar upazila was allegedly backfilled by a group of people in the evening.

The group chanted various slogans while filling in the grave. When The Daily Star visited the site at night, the area was deserted, with no one around. Local residents declined to comment on the incident.

Manik’s sister Hasina Begum said a group of people arrived late in the evening and filled in the grave. She could not say how many people were involved.

Expressing anger, Hasina said, “Will those who backfilled my brother’s grave never die?”

She said she wanted to intervene when the grave was being filled in, but neighbours stopped her.

Another sister, Hena Begum, said the family heard around 9:30am on Saturday that Manik had died. His body was brought from Tungipara in Gopalganj to Pirojpur by an ambulance around noon.

Manik’s house was set on fire after the fall of the Awami League government on August 5, 2024. He fled the house to save his life and stayed in Gopalganj. He had previously been under police protection during the AL rule.

Around 1:00pm on Saturday, Manik’s body was brought to the Pirojpur Sadar Upazila Parishad premises in an ambulance belonging to a private clinic. Following the news of the body’s arrival, local Jamaat leaders and activists allegedly began gathering there.

The ambulance was subsequently taken to the Pirojpur Police Lines, where Manik was accorded a guard of honour at around 5:00pm, confirmed Pirojpur Sadar Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md Sariful Islam.

The OC said around 8:30pm that no decision had yet been made on when and where Manik would be buried. “Further decisions would be taken in accordance with instructions from senior authorities.”

Earlier in the afternoon, Pirojpur municipal Jamaat Ameer Abdur Razzak Sheikh claimed that Manik was a fake freedom fighter.

He said they did not want Manik to be accorded a guard of honour and opposed the burial of his body.

No senior Jamaat leader could be reached for comment on the filling in of the grave.

However, Md Sohrab Hossain Jewel, secretary of the district Jamaat’s publicity and media department, denied the party’s involvement in the incident.

He said Jamaat did not support such activities.

On August 11, 2009, Manik Posari, of Chitholia village in Pirojpur Sadar upazila, filed a war crimes case against Jamaat leader Delwar Hossain Sayeedi and four others with the court of the chief judicial magistrate in Pirojpur.

Sayeedi was sentenced to jail unto death by the International Crimes Tribunal in the case. He died on August 14, 2023, while undergoing treatment at a hospital during his imprisonment.