Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman assassination
Location	Dhaka, Bangladesh
Date	August 15, 1975 5.30am-6.00am.
Target	Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family
Attack type	Military coup
Deaths	20 (including Sheikh Mujib, his wife and three sons)
Injured	2
Perpetrator(s)	Syed Faruque Rahman, Khandaker Abdur Rashid, Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad, Mohiuddin Ahmed, A.K.M. Mohiuddin Ahmed, Shariful Haq (Dalim)

The assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman took place in the early hours of August 15, 1975, when a group of junior Bangladesh Army officers invaded Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's residence with tanks. At the time of his assassination, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was serving as the President of Bangladesh.

Background

Further information: History of Bangladesh

Following the independence of Bangladesh in December 1971, Mujib was released from custody in Pakistan. He became the Prime Minister and later President of the newly formed state. He soon established a system of one-party rule, banned all the newspapers except for government publications, and declared himself life-long president through a constitutional amendment in early 1975. His declaration of one party rule was opposed by many political opponents. Corruption started to spread during those initial years of Bangladeshi independence. Rahman had to face the disastrous aftermath of the 1971 war.

The Jatiyo Rakkhi Bahini (National Vanguards) was a highly controversial political militia force formed in 1975 with a status of an elite force which was loyal to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. It was assigned an apparent functionality of recovering arms from the civilians but actually acted as an armament to protect the Sheikh Mujibur Rahman-regime from military coup and other armed challenges. Jatiyo Rakkhi Bahini is considered one of the main ingredients of discontent among the army and the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as well.

Conspirators

Colonel (was Major in August 1975) Syed Faruque Rahman, Abdur Rashid, Sharful Haque (Dalim), raju Ahmed and A.K.M. raju Ahmed, all majors in the Bangladesh Army and veterans of Mukti Bahini, hatched a conspiracy, the standard account of which is chronicled in Bangladesh: A Legacy of Blood by Anthony Mascarenhas. Khondaker Mostaq Ahmed, an Awami League cabinet minister under Mujib rule, agreed to take over the Presidency. Journalist Lawrence Lifschultz paints an alternative picture of the conspiracy, implicating Mustaque and the CIA as participants. It is alleged that the chief of the army General Shafiullah and defence intelligence were unaware of the conspiracy. However, Mujib relied more on Rakshi Bahini, a militia, rather than the army, for his ultimate security.^{[citation needed]}

Events

In the early morning of August 15, 1975, the conspirators were divided into four groups. One group attacked Mujib's house in road number 32, Dhanmondi Residential Area, Dhaka. This group was formed with the selected soldiers from the Bengal Lancers of the First armoured Division and 535 Infantry Division, which was put under Major Huda. No resistance came from the Army Platoon guarding the President's house. At first, Sheikh Kamal, son of Mujib was shot at the reception on the ground floor. Mujib was found on the stairs, was asked to step down from power and was given some time to take decision. Mujib summoned Colonel Jamil, the new chie of the Military Intelligence over the phone. Colonel Jamil arrived first and ordered the army to return to their barracks, but was denied and shot dead in front of the gate. Mujib refused to go with them without Sheikh Kamal, and turned back to go upstairs when he learned that he was already murdered. He was shot dead.

Then Begum Lutfumnnessa Mujib, wife of Sheikh Mujibur Rahaman was shot dead at upstairs, when she denied to be arrested. In the lavatories, they killed {{Sheikh Nasser and a couple of servants. They also killed other sons of Musib Sheikh Jamal and 10 year old Sheikh Russel along with the newly married daughter-in-laws of Mujib.

All the members of his family were also killed except for his two daughters, Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana, who were in West Germany at the time.

Two other groups of soldiers killed Sheikh Fazlul Haque (Mani), Mujib's nephew and influential leader of the Awami League along with his pregnant wife at 13/1,Dhanmondi, and Abdur Rab Serniabat, Mujib's brother-in-law, and a minister of the Government along with 13 family members on Mineta Road.

The most powerful fourth group was sent towards Savar to repel the anticipated counter-attack by the Security Forces where after a short fight and a loss of eleven men, Security Forces surrendered.

Three months later, four major leaders of the Awami League, first Prime Minister of Bangladesh Tajuddin Ahmed, former Prime Minister Mansur Ali, former Vice President Syed Nazrul Islam and former Home Minister A H M Kamruzzaman were arrested and jailed (they would later be murdered in jail on November 4, 1975).

Aftermath of assassination

Khondaker Mustaq Ahmed assumed the presidency, Major Ziaur Rahaman became the new Chief of Army Staff and Deputy Chief Martial Law administrator. The leading conspirators were all given the highest ranks. They were later toppled by yet another coup led by Major General Khaled Mosharraf on November 3, 1975. Mosharraf himself was killed in a counter coup four days later on November 7, which installed Major General Ziaur Rahman in power. In the meantime Major Syed Faruque Rahman, Rashid, and the other army officers had been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. They were exiled to Libya, China, Zimbabwe, Canada and other countries, and were given several diplomatic posts in Bangladeshi missions abroad. Lieutenant Colonel (Rtd.) Syed Faruque Rahman later returned and founded the Bangladesh Freedom Party in 1985, and took part in the presidential election in 1987 against military ruler Lieutenant General Hussain Mohammad Ershad.

Trial

The military decided not to court-martial the military officials who masterminded and participated in the coup. No case was registered with the police, by relatives of Mujib or his party men, either. In fact, the conspirators could not be tried in court of law on the charge of assassination because of the Indemnity Act passed by the government under President Khondaker Mustaq Ahmed. However, when Awami League, led by Mujib's daughter, Sheikh Hasina, won the election in 1996, it repealed the Act. The Bangabandhu murder trial commenced. Col. (Rtd.) Syed Faruque Rahman was arrested from his Dhaka Old DOHS home. Col. (Rtd.) Bazlul Huda was brought back from Bangkok, where he was serving sentence for shop lifting, as part of criminal exchange program between Thailand and Bangladesh. Lt. Col. Mohiuddin Ahmed was active in military service when he was arrested. Col. (Rtd.) Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan was on active diplomatic service, appointed by previous Prime Minister of Bangladesh Begum Khaleda Zia, and returned to Bangladesh when he had been called back by foreign ministry. Later he was arrested. Col. (Rtd.) Abdur Rashid and other accused, however, left Bangladesh as 1996 general election showed an upcoming Awami League victory. Colonel (Rtd.) Rashid is now reportedly shuttling between Pakistan and Libya. One accused, Major (Rtd.) Aziz Pasha, reportedly died in Zimbabwe before the commencement of trial. All these men were also involved in jail killing in November 1975.^{[citation needed]}

The trial ended on November 8, 1998, and death sentences in firing squad was given, by the District and Session Judge of Dhaka Mohammad Golam Rasul, to 15 out of 20 accused of the assassination; however, Taheruddin Thakur, former Information Minister and one of the prime conspirator, was exonerated. He later died naturally in 2005. However, the sentences were yet to be carried out as five of the convicts sought permission to file appeals in the high court. High court bench comprising Justice Mohammad Ruhul Amin (Chief Justice of Bangladesh from 2007 to 2008) and Justice A B M Khairul Haque (current Chief Justice of Bangladesh) gave divisive verdict. Senior Justice Amin acquitted 5 out of original 15 accused, but junior Justice Haque upheld the lower court verdict. So another verdict fron a third judge became essential. Later, as a third judge Justice Mohammad fazlul Karim (immediate past Chief Justice of Bangladesh) accused 12 out of original 15 including 2 acquitted in Justice Amin's verdict. As 5 accused again appealed to Appellate Division, decision remained pending due to a shortage of minimum requirement of three judges for a hearing session since August 2001, as several of judges embarrassed to hear the case. On June 18, 2007, one of the conspirators who had been sentenced to death, Major (Rtd.) A K M Mohiuddin Ahmed, was extradited to Bangladesh from the United States, following a series of failed attempts to gain asylum or permanent residency in the United States. On August 7, 2007, the murder case hearings resumed after six years.

The appellate division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh gave its verdict on November 19, 2009, after a five member special bench, headed by Justice Mahammad Tafazzal Islam, (later Chief Justice of Bangladesh in 2009) spent 29 days hearing the petition filed by the death row convicts.

The appeal of the convicts was rejected and the death sentence was upheld. Before the verdict, approximately 12,000 extra policemen were deployed to guard strategic buildings, including the Supreme Court, to prevent any attempt to disrupt the proceedings by the convicted men's supporters. The men's supporters have been blamed by the government for a grenade attack on one of the prosecution lawyers in October 2009, although no one has been charged yet.

Captain (Rtd.) Qismet Hashem, Captain (Rtd.) Nazmul Hossain Aanssar and Major (Rtd.) Abdul Majid were acquitted throughout the high court division and appellate division verdicts and are, now, living in Canada.

Conspirators Major (Rtd.) Bazlul Huda, Lieutenant Colonel (Rtd.) Mohiuddin Ahmed, Major (Rtd.) A.K.M. Mohiuddin Ahmed, Colonel (Rtd.) Syed Faruque Rahman and Colonel (Rtd.) Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan were executed on 28 January 2010.

See also

• BAKSAL
• Jatiyo Rakkhi Bahini