4. On receipt of the order I issued the following notice:—
NOTICE
"Statements in writing, preferably typewritten, of facts relevant to the firing by the Police at Dacca on the 21st of February, 1952, are invited from members of the public, members of the University, student groups or organisations from the Provincial Government and any other parties concerned.
The statements should be accompanied by a list of the full names and addresses of the witnesses cited in their support.
The statements should be addressed to the Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ellis at the High Court, Dacca, and should reach him on or before the 31st March, 1952."
Judge, High Court, Dacca.
20-3-1952.
The notice was given wide publicity by publication in the Provincial newspapers and by broadcast announcement over Radio Pakistan.
5. The notice invited statements in writing from persons in a position to speak to facts relevant to the firing by the Police on the 21st of February 1952. In all I received 28 communications and of those 28 communications one related to the events of the 22nd of February, 1952, which did not fall within the scope of my enquiry and therefore did not call for consideration. Eleven of the communications were received from persons who thought that the firing by the Police was not warranted by the circumstances of the case. Two of the communications came from the convenor of the All-Party State Language Committee and from the acting General Secretary, East Pakistan Youth League respectively. They forwarded resolutions of those associations announcing that they did not propose to take part in the enquiry inasmuch as they objected to its scope and limitation. An anonymous petition purporting to come from the students and public complained that the students leaders and the leaders of the public who were aware of the material facts had been kept in jail and thus were not in a position to make any statements relevant to the Police firing. One communication was a letter signed by one Syedul Huq of Mymensingh who asked me to send his letter to the Press for publication. It appeared that he was labouring under a personal grievance, had a private axe to grind and was anxious for a little free and safe publicity. One statement in Bengali, dated the 28th March 1952, was received from a student of the Dacca College by name Mohd. Abdul Matin, but he subsequently withdrew in a letter of the 9th April, 1952 that statement on behalf of himself and the witnesses he had cited. A statement was sent by one Aktaruddin, President of the All East Pakistan Muslim Students' League, 24, S.M. Hall, Dacca, on the 27th of March, 1952. It did not reach me till the 1st of April 1952, one day after the date appointed for the reception of statements. I accepted it, however, as it had been despatched on the 27th of March, 1952. It contained the surprising statement that a
