Khulna ‘haunted house’ used by collaborators facing dereliction

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Hedait Hossain, Khulna
Published : 04:00, Dec 09, 2019 | Updated : 16:34, Dec 09, 2019

The slaughterhouse in Khulna which carries horrific memories of 1971 is in a derelict condition. The Plaster of the building has fallen off and the structure is covered by trees and vegetation. This house was built one hundred years ago near the Tutupara graveyard by local landlord Dinnath Singh. At that time, a young girl and few others suffered unnatural deaths in the house. It was abandoned, getting a bad name as 'a haunted house’. At one point, this became an Ansar camp and in 1971, a camp for the collaborators, the Rajakars.
A representative of Khulna conscious citizens' platform Humayun Kabir, said: 'Pro-Pakistani forces were given training here.”
They were involved in murders, looting, rape, arson, extortion and other crimes. Every day, hundreds of youths were brought to the camp to be tortured. A covered van was used to take men to be shot or slaughtered.
Locals say that the house is dilapidated and there have been no efforts to preserve it. Currently, the house is under the Ansar and Village Defence Force (VDP) which has offices in the building.
Some repairs were done on the façade but the condition inside is lamentable: the entire building is covered in weeds, water leaks from the roof and the floors are mossy and damp.
Khulna district General Secretary of the platform to eradicate killers and collaborators of the invading Pakistani forces in 1971, Mahendranath Sen, says: “This was used as a camp by quislings and it is linked to the freedom struggle of 1971. Therefore, it needs to be preserved.”
Director of Ansar VDP, Khulna range, Molla Azad Hossain, adds: “The building has been declared as abandoned by PDB and we cannot carry out any restoration work due to lack of funds; also, there is no government directive in this regard.”

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