Date 13 May 1971 (UTC+6:00) Attack type Mass murder, Massacre Deaths More than 900 | Target Bengali Hindus Weapons Light Machine Guns | |
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Location Demra, Pabna, Bangladesh | ||
Demra massacre (Bengali: ডেমরা হত্যাকান্ড) in Bangladesh was the massacre of unarmed Hindu residents of the villages under Demra Union in present-day Faridpur Upazila in Pabna District by the Pakistani occupation army aided by local collaborators on 13 May 1971. It is estimated that 800–900 people were killed in a single day. Rape and plunder were also carried out, and mosques, temples, schools and houses were set on fire.
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Background
When the Pakistani occupation army spread out from Dhaka towards the districts as a part of the Operation Searchlight, the people began to flee their homes. The Hindus began to flee Bangladesh and take refuge in neighbouring India. On their way they had taken shelter in the remote village of Baushgari in Demra union.
Events
The Pakistani occupation army, led by the local collaborators entered the area through the Boral river and then cordoned off the Baushgari and Rupsi villages. One collaborator named Asad led the Pakistani troops to the Baushgari village. In the nightfall, the men were dragged out of their houses and made to stand in a line, while the women were raped in front of them by the Pakistani troops with the help of the collaborators. After that both the men and women were shot to death and their houses were set on fire. A few survivors interred the charred remains of the bodies in a mass grave the next morning. Around 350 Hindus were killed in Baushgari village.
Investigation
An 11-member team from the International Crimes Tribunal investigated the Demra massacre in 2010. The team was led by Sayed Rejaur Rahman, one of the prosecutors of the tribunal. The investigators visited the killing spots in Baushgari village and interviewed the witnesses to the war crimes. In their preliminary investigation they found Motiur Rahman Nizami guilty of masterminding the massacre.