The people sitting in the train had now sensed the atmosphere after seeing the surroundings. All the coaches were locked from outside. Armed Muslim Biharis and Pakistani soldiers were seen outside the train.
Image Credit source: Courtesy of Newyorker
The war of 1971 is the story of the independence of Bangladesh. At that time Pakistan was wreaking havoc all over the country and India was fighting to get freedom to Bangladesh. Many mass massacres were carried out. Pakistani soldiers killed about 3 million people. Marwaris were also on the target of Pakistani soldiers. He had killed a large number of Marwaris by taking them into confidence.
In a report by India Today, Nijhu Kumar Agarwal, who was an eyewitness to one such incident, has told the reality of Pakistani brutality. He told that the men and women of the Marwari community were made to believe by the Pakistan Army that they would be sent back to their motherland India through a train. By stopping the massacre of Bengalis, they will be brought out safely. A ray of hope arose in a group of 450 Marwaris, including some Bengalis.
Betrayal of the Marwaris
It was announced over loudspeakers that he had to board the last train back to India. He was asked to reach Saidpur in Nilphamari at midnight, where he was settled for business over the years. It was believed that the train would go towards Jalpaiguri in West Bengal via Chilhati border. The train started and stopped near railway culvert number 338 in Golhat area. The train had just covered a distance of only 2 kms.
The people sitting in the train had now sensed the atmosphere after seeing the surroundings. All the coaches were locked from outside. Armed Muslim Biharis and Pakistani soldiers were seen outside the train, who were about to kill the people sitting in the train.
looted the respect of women
The women were kept in a separate compartment. He was taken out of the train and the Pakistani jawans and their associates attacked him like wolves. Even after seeing all this there was complete silence. No one was even doing a mistake even after seeing the respect of his loved ones being destroyed.
Bullets were fired at the men locked in the train. As the night deepened, the train and railway tracks turned into mass graves. Out of those people, only 8 to 10 people managed to escape by dodging them in the lap of darkness.
Nijhu Kumar Agarwal is also one of those people, who saw that doom with his own living eyes. Even before that night of 6th June in 1971, a group of Marwari community was subjected to crime. About 100 people were abducted by the Pakistani army for the construction of an airport. They were flogged to make them work hard day and night.
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