A police officer has testified as the first witness in a case against former Awami League MP Abul Hasanat Abdullah and three others over the alleged crossfire killings of two men in Agailjhara, Barishal, on February 21, 2015. The testimony was given on Wednesday before International Crimes Tribunal-2, marking the formal start of the trial.

In his statement, witness Asim Kumar Sarkar, now Officer-in-Charge of Barishal Sadar Naval Police Station, described events leading up to the killings. He said that at the time he was a sub-inspector at Agailjhara Police Station and was instructed by his superiors to file a case after a pickup van was set on fire. He testified that the Superintendent of Police later ordered him to carry out a crossfire killing of two arrested suspects, which he refused.

According to the testimony, the two detainees, Tipu Hawlader and Kabir Hossain, were later killed in what was reported as a crossfire incident. The witness claimed officers from another police station were brought in to execute the operation after local officers declined to participate.