Khandaker Abdur Rashid | |
|---|---|
| Allegiance |  Pakistan (Before 1971) Bangladesh |
| Service/ |  Pakistan Army  Bangladesh Army |
| Years of service | 1967-1976 |
| Rank |  Lieutenant Colonel (Dismissed) |
| Unit | Regiment of Artillery |
| Commands held |
|
| Known for | Assassination of Sheikh Mujib |
Khandaker Abdur Rashid is a Bangladesh Army officer and a accused of assassinating the first president of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujib. [1] [2]
Khandaker Abdur Rashid was born on 1946 in the district of Comilla, in British India. He served in the Pakistan army and defected during the start of Bangladesh Liberation war. Thus, he was a freedom fighter. Despite having a similarity in family name, the only relation between Abdur Rashid and Khandaker Moshtaque Ahmed was their common birth district. Khandaker Moshtaque Ahmed became the president of Bangladesh after the assassination of Sheikh Mujib. [3] Rashid was a major at the time of the 15 August 1975 coup and assassination of Sheikh Mujib. He was part of the team that raided the armory of the 2nd Field Artillery on 11:30 pm August 15 to use the weapons in the coup. He was maintaining contact with Moshtaque throughout the time. The conspirators held several meetings at his residence in Dhaka cantonment. [4] He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel after the assassination. He returned to Dhaka during the regime of Hussain Mohammad Ershad. He formed Bangladesh Freedom Party with Syed Faruque Rahman. He was elected to parliament in the 15 February 1996 general election from Comilla-6, which was discredited. [5] Faruque was his brother in law. [6]
He was convicted and sentenced to death in absentia for the assassination of Sheikh Mujib. He lives in the United States as of 2000. [7] In 2016 the government of Bangladesh passed a law that allowed for the seizure of the properties of those convicted in the killing of Sheikh Mujib. Abdur Rashid's shares in Kushtia based Jubilee Bank were ordered to be seized by Bangladesh Bank. [8] His daughter Mehnaz Rashid is leader of the Freedom Party and was arrested in 2009 by Bangladesh police. [9]
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, popularly known by the honorific prefix Bangabandhu, was a Bangladeshi politician, revolutionary, statesman, activist and diarist. As a politician, Mujib had held continuous positions either as Bangladesh's president or as its prime minister from April 1971 until his assassination in August 1975. Mujib successfully led the Bangladeshi independence movement and restored the Bengali sovereignty after over two centuries following the Battle of Plassey in 1757, for which he is honoured as the 'Father of the Nation' in Bangladesh. In 2011, the fifteenth constitutional amendment in Bangladesh referred to Sheikh Mujib as the Father of the Nation who declared independence; these references were enshrined in the fifth, sixth, and seventh schedules of the constitution. His Bengali nationalist ideology, socio-political theories, and political doctrines are sometimes called Mujibism.
Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad was a Bangladeshi politician. He was the fourth president of Bangladesh from 15 August to 6 November 1975, after the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He was involved in the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 15 August 1975. He took on the role of president immediately after the assassination, praised the assassins as "sons of the sun" and put cabinet ministers loyal to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in jail.
The Indemnity Ordinance, 1975 was a controversial law enacted by the martial law regime of Bangladesh on 26 September 1975. It provided legal immunity to all persons involved in the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was killed with most of his family on 15 August 1975. Immunity meant the assassins were immune from any legal action. The surviving family members of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman were unable to file a murder case against the assassins due to this law.
Syed Faruque Rahman was a coup member involved in toppling the Sheikh Mujib regime in Bangladesh. He was convicted and hanged on 28 January 2010 along with co-conspirators Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, A.K.M. Mohiuddin Ahmed, Mohiuddin Ahmed, and Mohammad Bazlul Huda in Dhaka Central Jail, Old Dhaka, for the murder of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founder and first President of Bangladesh. Syed Faruque Rahman and his close ally Khondaker Abdur Rashid were the chief organisers of the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 15 August 1975. He was 2IC of the 1st Bengal Lancers Regiment of the Bangladesh Army who led a group of junior army officers in order to overthrew the regime of Sheikh Mujib and install Khondaker Mushtaque Ahmed as President of Bangladesh.
The first president of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and most of his family were killed during the early hours of 15 August 1975 by a group of Bangladesh Army personnel who invaded his Dhanmondi 32 residence as part of a coup d'état. Minister of Commerce, Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad, immediately took control of the government and proclaimed himself president. The assassination marked the first direct military intervention in Bangladesh's civilian administration-centric politics. 15 August is National Mourning Day, an official national holiday in Bangladesh.
Jail Killing Day is observed by the Awami League (AL) of Bangladesh and many other political organisations on 3 November every year. It commemorates the killing of four Awami League and national leaders: former vice-president Syed Nazrul Islam, former prime minister Tajuddin Ahmed and Captain (Rtd.) Mansur Ali, and former home minister A H M Quamruzzaman on this date in 1975.
The Bangladesh Freedom Party is a party founded by Colonel Khandaker Abdur Rashid, Colonel Syed Faruque Rahman and Major Bazlul Huda, the chief conspirators of the killing of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 15 August 1975.
Begum Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib, commonly known as Begum Mujib; and also known by her nickname Renu, was the wife of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founder and the first President of Bangladesh. She is the mother of Sheikh Hasina, the current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Fazilatunnesa was assassinated with her husband, brother-in-law, 3 sons and 2 daughters-in-law.
Shariful Haque Dalim (born 2 February 1946) is a former Bangladeshi army officer and ambassador of Bangladesh. He was also convicted for his part in the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the country's founding father, in 1975.
Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan was a Bangladeshi army officer who was convicted for the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father and then President of Bangladesh. On 28 January 2010, Rahman was hanged along with Syed Faruque Rahman, A.K.M. Mohiuddin Ahmed, Mohiuddin Ahmed, and Mohammad Bazlul Huda in Old Dhaka Central Jail.
Mohammad Bazlul Huda was a Bangladeshi Army officer who was convicted of the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, president of Bangladesh. On 28 January 2010, Bazlul was hanged along with Syed Faruque Rahman, Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, Mohiuddin Ahmed, and A.K.M. Mohiuddin Ahmed in Old Dhaka Central Jail.
A.K.M. Mohiuddin Ahmed was a Bangladesh Army officer who was convicted in absentia and executed for the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. On 28 January 2010, Ahmed was hanged along with Syed Faruque Rahman, Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, Mohiuddin Ahmed, and Mohammad Bazlul Huda in Old Dhaka Central Jail.
Rashed Chowdhury is a former Bangladesh Army officer. Chowdhury was a participant in the coup that led to the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur, the founding father and President of Bangladesh, in 1975. His specific role in the coup is in dispute.
The 15 August 1975 Bangladesh coup d'état was a military coup launched by mid ranking army officers in Bangladesh on 15 August 1975. The officers were part of a conspiracy to assassinate Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangladesh, who led the independence struggle during the Bangladesh Liberation War and later served as the first and fourth president and later in between his two presidential terms served as the second prime minister of Bangladesh from April 1971 until his assassination in August 1975. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family members were killed during the coup, with the exception of his two daughters Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana.
Mohiuddin Ahmed was a Bangladesh Army officer who was convicted of the Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. On 28 January 2010, Ahmed was hanged along with Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, A.K.M. Mohiuddin Ahmed, Syed Farooq Rahman, and Mohammad Bazlul Huda at Old Dhaka Central Jail.
Mohammad Kismat Hashem was a Bangladesh Army officer who was convicted for his role in the 1975 Jail Killing of four senior Awami League leaders following the Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the President of Bangladesh.
Nurul Islam Manzur was a former Bangladesh Awami League politician and the former State Minister of Communication in the cabinet of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He was aligned with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
Abdul Majed was a Bangladeshi military officer who was convicted for his role in the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding president of Bangladesh.
MoslemuddinKhan, also known as Rafiqul Islam Khan, is a Bangladeshi army officer who was convicted for his role in the 15 August 1975 Bangladeshi coup and the subsequent jail killings. He was sentenced to death in absentia and is currently a fugitive.
Abdul Wahab Joardar is a Bangladesh Army non-commissioned officer who is known for his role in the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding president of Bangladesh.