Solved case · 1975
Also known as Jail Killing · জেল হত্যা
Tajuddin Ahmad, Syed Nazrul Islam, Muhammad Mansur Ali, A. H. M. QamaruzzamanCredit: Wikimedia Commons (1970 photograph)Public domainSourceThe short answer
On 3 November 1975, four senior Bangladeshi political leaders held at Dhaka Central Jail were shot and bayoneted to death by army officers acting under the post-coup government of President Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad.
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Suggest coverage for 1975 Jail KillingThe 1975 Jail Killing refers to the murder of four national leaders of the Bangladesh Liberation War inside Dhaka Central Jail on 3 November 1975. The victims were former vice-president/president Syed Nazrul Islam, former prime ministers Tajuddin Ahmad and Muhammad Mansur Ali, and former home minister and Awami League president A. H. M. Qamaruzzaman.
The killings followed the 15 August 1975 coup d'état in which President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was killed and the Awami League government was overthrown. In the aftermath, the military administration detained roughly 50 Awami League activists, including the four senior leaders, at Dhaka Central Jail.
On 3 November 1975, jailer Aminur Rahman was ordered to move the four leaders from their separate cells into a single room, on the pretext that a representative of the Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad government would meet them. Four army officers led by Moslemuddin were initially refused entry by the deputy inspector general of prisons but were admitted on the orders of President Ahmad. The officers shot the four leaders in their cell, killing all except Muhammad Mansur Ali. A prison guard, Motaleb, heard Ali's dying calls for water and alerted jail officials; an army team that had returned to the jail entrance then went back in and bayoneted all four men, resulting in their deaths.
Later that same day, Major General Khaled Mosharraf and Colonel Shafaat Jamil launched a successful counter-coup that removed President Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad and those responsible for Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's killing from power.
A first information report was filed with Lalbagh police station, and the investigating officer, Deputy Superintendent of Police Saifuddin Ahmed, was not permitted to visit the jail cell. Investigation stalled from 1975 to 1995 amid lack of government interest, and post-mortem and police investigation files went missing. The Indemnity Ordinance, 1975 shielded the army officers involved. After the Awami League returned to power in 1996, the investigation resumed, and a charge sheet naming 23 accused was filed on 15 October 1998.
The Metropolitan Sessions Court convicted 15 of 20 accused. Marfot Ali Shah, Moslemuddin, and Abdul Hashem Mridha were sentenced to death; twelve others received life imprisonment; five, including KM Obaidur Rahman and Taheruddin Thakur, were acquitted. On appeal in 2008, the Bangladesh High Court upheld only Moslemuddin's sentence and acquitted several others. In 2013, the Bangladesh Supreme Court restored the death sentences of Marfat Ali Shah and Abul Hashem Mridha. Abdul Majed was detained on 7 April 2020 and executed on 12 April 2020. As of 2022, the government sought the return of Mohamed Khairuzzaman from Malaysia; Rashed Chowdhury remained in the United States and Noor Chowdhury in Canada.
3 November is observed annually in Bangladesh as Jail Killing Day.
President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is killed in a coup d'état; the Awami League government is overthrown.
Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmad, Muhammad Mansur Ali, and A. H. M. Qamaruzzaman are shot and bayoneted to death in Dhaka Central Jail; a counter-coup by Khaled Mosharraf and Shafaat Jamil removes President Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad from power the same day.
Investigation into the killings resumes after the Awami League is elected to power.
A charge sheet is presented against 23 accused.
Metropolitan Sessions Judge Motiur Rahman issues an arrest warrant against Deputy Superintendent of Police Saifuddin Ahmed.
Bangladesh High Court issues its verdict on the appeal of the 2004 judgement.
Bangladesh Supreme Court delivers its verdict on the appeal, restoring two death sentences.
Abdul Majed is detained.
Abdul Majed is executed.
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
Former home minister and Awami League president; killed 3 November 1975 in Dhaka Central Jail[3]
Former prime minister of Bangladesh; killed 3 November 1975 in Dhaka Central Jail[3]
Former vice-president/acting president of Bangladesh; killed 3 November 1975 in Dhaka Central Jail[3]
Former prime minister of Bangladesh; killed 3 November 1975 in Dhaka Central Jail[3]
Sentenced to life imprisonment by Metropolitan Sessions Court; later found innocent on appeal by the High Court[3]
Sentenced to death by Metropolitan Sessions Court; death sentence upheld by Bangladesh Supreme Court in 2013[3]
Sentenced to life imprisonment; detained 7 April 2020 and executed 12 April 2020[3]
Sentenced to life imprisonment by Metropolitan Sessions Court[3]
Sentenced to life imprisonment by Metropolitan Sessions Court[3]
Sentenced to death by Metropolitan Sessions Court; death sentence upheld by Bangladesh Supreme Court in 2013[3]
Sentenced to life imprisonment by Metropolitan Sessions Court; later found innocent on appeal by the High Court[3]
Sentenced to life imprisonment by Metropolitan Sessions Court[3]
Led the army officers who entered the jail; sentenced to death, upheld on appeal by the High Court and Supreme Court[3]
Sentenced to life imprisonment by Metropolitan Sessions Court[3]
Sentenced to life imprisonment by Metropolitan Sessions Court; reported to be living in the United States[3]
Sentenced to life imprisonment by Metropolitan Sessions Court; reported to be living in Canada[3]
Sentenced to life imprisonment by Metropolitan Sessions Court[3]
Sentenced to life imprisonment by Metropolitan Sessions Court; later found innocent on appeal by the High Court[3]
Sentenced to life imprisonment by Metropolitan Sessions Court; later found innocent on appeal by the High Court[3]
Bangladesh Nationalist Party MP; found innocent of all charges by Metropolitan Sessions Court[3]
Found innocent of all charges by Metropolitan Sessions Court; as of 2022 the government sought his return from Malaysia[3]
Found innocent of all charges by Metropolitan Sessions Court[3]
Out on bail during trial; found innocent of all charges by Metropolitan Sessions Court[3]
Out on bail during trial; found innocent of all charges by Metropolitan Sessions Court[3]
From the record
Coverage is not a source: every fact in this file rests on the records below.
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