Remembering the jail killings of 1975

November 3, 1975 witnessed one of the blackest chapters in the history of Bangladesh. On this day only 79 days after the brutal assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family members, the four national leaders who were at the helm of Bangladesh’s Liberation War-- Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmed, Captain (Retd) Mansur Ali and AHM Kamruzzamnan-- were brutally killed inside the Dhaka Central Jail.  Surely these gruesome murders were continuation of the brutal murders at Bangabandhu’s house as after that tragedy the four national leaders were arrested and put behind bars by the nefarious usurpers of power at that time. Hardly any careful observer of the situation in that period could miss the aspect that the barbaric killings of the four national leaders were carried out to ensure that none of the towering personalities who had led our independence struggle remained alive to rekindle the spirit of the liberation war and get back at the killers to unseat them from power and avenge the killings.  

Today is a day of heart-rending sorrow and grief as we recall the mindless murders of four great sons of the country on this date who adroitly led our war of independence at its decisive stage. The murderers stunned and stupefied the civilized world by their sheer act of barbarism. They just forced their way into the jail and shot dead the leaders in their most helpless conditions. From forming the government in exile in India to presiding over that government deftly during the nine-months long liberation war, together with their steering successfully the newborn country’s affairs in its earliest period amid great difficulties, the four national leaders through their deeds as distinct from only words, carved out a place of greatness in the minds and hearts of our people.  The killers and their patrons wanted to erase the name of the Liberation War heroes from Bangladesh and create a vacuum in the leadership of the nation. But their remembrance by a grateful nation, today, vindicates that the killers have failed for good in their sinister aims. A murder case in connection with the jail killings was filed in Lalbagh Police Station on November 4, 1975, but the then government halted the trial process by promulgating an ordinance that indemnified the assassins. It was only after an Awami League led government came back to power that justice was done. In a verdict, the Supreme Court upheld the death penalty for three former army personnel and life imprisonment for eight others for killing the four national leaders.  

Remembering the jail killings of 1975

November 3, 1975 witnessed one of the blackest chapters in the history of Bangladesh. On this day only 79 days after the brutal assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family members, the four national leaders who were at the helm of Bangladeshs Liberation War-- Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmed, Captain (Retd) Mansur Ali and AHM Kamruzzamnan-- were brutally killed inside the Dhaka Central Jail. Surely these gruesome murders were continuation of the brutal murders at Bangabandhus house as after that tragedy the four national leaders were arrested and put behind bars by the nefarious usurpers of power at that time. Hardly any careful observer of the situation in that period could miss the aspect that the barbaric killings of the four national leaders were carried out to ensure that none of the towering personalities who had led our independence struggle remained alive to rekindle the spirit of the liberation war and get back at the killers to unseat them from power and avenge the killings. Today is a day of heart-rending sorrow and grief as we recall the mindless murders of four great sons of the country on this date who adroitly led our war of independence at its decisive stage. The murderers stunned and stupefied the civilized world by their sheer act of barbarism. They just forced their way into the jail and shot dead the leaders in their most helpless conditions. From forming the government in exile in India to presiding over that government deftly during the nine-months long liberation war, together with their steering successfully the newborn countrys affairs in its earliest period amid great difficulties, the four national leaders through their deeds as distinct from only words, carved out a place of greatness in the minds and hearts of our people. The killers and their patrons wanted to erase the name of the Liberation War heroes from Bangladesh and create a vacuum in the leadership of the nation. But their remembrance by a grateful nation, today, vindicates that the killers have failed for good in their sinister aims. A murder case in connection with the jail killings was filed in Lalbagh Police Station on November 4, 1975, but the then government halted the trial process by promulgating an ordinance that indemnified the assassins. It was only after an Awami League led government came back to power that justice was done. In a verdict, the Supreme Court upheld the death penalty for three former army personnel and life imprisonment for eight others for killing the four national leaders.