Observing Jail Killing Day Today
Today marks Jail Killing Day. On this day in 1975 (November 3), four national leaders and heroic figures of the Liberation War were brutally murdered while held in Dhaka Central Jail. These leaders were Bangladesh’s first acting President Syed Nazrul Islam, Prime Minister Tajuddin Ahmad, Cabinet member Captain M. Mansur Ali, and A.H.M. Qamaruzzaman. They played vital roles in leading the Liberation War.
Just two and a half months prior to this heinous act, on August 15, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated along with his family at his residence in Dhanmondi, House No. 32. After Bangabandhu’s assassination, his four trusted associates were arrested and imprisoned. In their memory, November 3 is observed each year as Jail Killing Day.
Following the tragic incident, on November 4, 1975, the then Deputy Inspector General of Prisons (DIG Prison) Abdul Awal filed a murder case at Lalbagh Police Station. The case stated that under the leadership of Risaldar Moslehuddin, four to five soldiers entered the jail and executed the four leaders. They were shot, and then stabbed with bayonets to ensure their deaths.
After a long wait, on October 20, 2004, the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court delivered the verdict in the case. In the ruling, absconding defendants Risaldar (Captain) Moslehuddin, Dafadar Marfat Ali Shah, and Dafadar Md. Abul Hashem Mridha were sentenced to death, and twelve others received life imprisonment. The judicial process concluded in 2013 with a verdict from the Appellate Division.
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