Historic Baroitala witnesses Kishoreganj genocide. On October 13, 1971, the Razakars and the Pakistani occupation forces brutally killed 365 innocent villagers at Baraitala in Kishoreganj Sadar upazila.
Since then, the locals have been observing this day as Baroitala Genocide Day.
Hundreds of families who lost their relatives in the Baroitala massacre are still living inhumanely. No one keeps track of them. The recognition and dignity of the martyr's family has not yet been met.
It was known that on October 13, 1971, at around 10 am, the Pakistani army and their local collaborators Razakar, Al-Badr and Al-Shams came to Baroitala of Karshakriail union by train from Kishoreganj. Later, they entered the nearby Dampara village and killed 4 to 5 innocent local residents indiscriminately.
The local razakars went from village to village with Pakistani soldiers and looted houses, tortured women and set them on fire. At that time, a rumor spread that the villagers had killed two Pakistani soldiers. After this rumor, the barbarous Pakistani occupation forces, in collaboration with the local razakars, lined up 365 innocent villagers at Baroitala beside the Kishoreganj-Bhairab railway line, pierced them with bayonets, beat them with rifle butts and shot them dead.
After independence, the then acting President Syed Nazrul Islam visited the site of the massacre. Later, the name of Baroitala was changed to 'Shaheed Nagar'. A memorial plaque was erected there in memory of the martyrs.
Later, in 2000, with the help of the government, a 25 feet high memorial was constructed in an area of 667 square feet beside the railway line in Boroitala area. Since then, the historic Baroitala Genocide Day is observed on October 13 every year in Kishoreganj.
ZH
