15 August 1975. In the twilight hours before dawn on the final night of Shraban, a monstrous atrocity shocked the world. At Road 32 in Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the architect of independent Bangladesh, was callously murdered alongside his family in a violent coup led by misguided army officers.
Sheikh Mujib was killed along with his wife Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib, eldest son Sheikh Kamal, second son Sheikh Jamal, youngest son 10-year-old Sheikh Russell, and two daughters-in-law Sultana Kamal and Parvin Jamal Rozi.
His younger brother Sheikh Abu Naser, brother-in-law and then Water Resources Minister Abdur Rab Serniabat, nephew Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni and Moni’s pregnant wife Arju Moni were also among those killed. A total of 16 family members and close associates lost their lives in the attack.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s two daughters, Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana, survived as they were abroad at the time.
The assassination of the founding leader of an independent state and members of his family remains one of the most significant and tragic events in Bangladesh’s political history.
Following independence, the war-torn country faced widespread challenges, including administrative weakness, political instability and allegations of corruption. In response, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman introduced a one-party political system, which drew criticism from opposition parties, who accused him of moving towards authoritarian rule.
The army officers involved in the assassination later claimed that they had acted to end what they described as authoritarian governance. Colonel Farooq Rahman, Colonel Khandaker Abdur Rashid, Major Shariful Haque Dalim, Major Noor Chowdhury, Major Shahriar Rashid, Major AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed and Captain Bazlul Huda were among the officers who directly took part in the operation.
Khondaker Mostaq Ahmed, then commerce minister in Mujib’s cabinet, was accused of playing a key political role behind the assassination. Shortly after the killing, Mostaq assumed the presidency and appointed the involved officers to key positions in the administration.
The subsequent political developments brought a major shift in Bangladesh’s political landscape. The assassination was followed by changes in state policies and governance structures, altering the country’s political direction.
A major controversy emerged over the legal protection granted to the killers. On 26 September 1975, the Khondaker Mostaq government issued the ‘Indemnity Ordinance’, preventing legal action against those involved in the assassination.
In 1979, the ordinance was incorporated into the Constitution through the Fifth Amendment passed by parliament, providing legal protection to the perpetrators.
The indemnity law was later repealed, paving the way for the trial of those accused in the assassination. The case remains one of the most significant trials in Bangladesh’s legal history.
