Wife and daughter dig grave of Freedom Fighter Manik Pashari

The burial of Bir Muktijoddha Manik Pashari, the complainant in the war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide cases against former Pirojpur-1 MP and Jamaat leader Maulana Delwar Hossain Sayeedi, has been completed under administration supervision.

After local Jamaat leaders and activists obstructed the burial and the organising of state honors, the burial was completed in the early hours of Sunday under the supervision of the administration and with police security.

Family members of Pashari said that around 1 am, the body reached home with the assistance of Sadar Police Station. Manik Pashari's wife, daughter, sister, and other family members dug the grave together and completed the burial around 2 am. A few local people were also present there. 

After suffering from old-age ailments and physical illness for a long time, 87-year-old Manik Pashari died at his son-in-law's house in Tungipara, Gopalganj. His body was taken to Pirojpur on Saturday noon.

Allegations have emerged that when the body was taken to the Sadar Upazila Parishad premises for bestowing a state guard of honor, local Jamaat leaders and activists arrived there and obstraucted the funeral services. As because Manik Pashari was the complainant in the case against Sayeedi over crimes against humanity, his burial and state honors were barred. In this situation, police took the body to the district police lines. Later, on the administration's initiative, he was given a state ceremonial guard of honor there.

Pirojpur Sadar Upazila Executive Officer (UNO) Md. Iftekharul Islam Shamim said that after the guard of honor, an initiative was taken to hand over the body to the family. However, in the face of protests by locals, for the sake of security, the body was not handed over immediately and was kept in police custody for a while.

Subsequently, the burial process was completed through the administration's mediation. Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md. Shariful Islam of Pirojpur Sadar Police Station said that Freedom Fighter Manik Pashari's burial was completed peacefully in the presence of the police administration and under strict security. No disorder or unpleasant incident occurred at the time.

On August 12, 2009, Manik Pashari filed a case with the International Crimes Tribunal against Jamaat leader Maulana Delwar Hossain Sayeedi on charges of crimes against humanity.

The International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Sayeedi to death for war crimes in 1971. Later, on appeal, the sentence was commuted to imprisonment until death. He died in 2023 while serving his sentence.

Sayeedi was the MP for Pirojpur-1 constituency. The current MP for that constituency is his son, Masud Sayeedi.