Around 4:30am on August 15, 1975, some overambitious and disgruntled army officers entered Bangabandhu's residence at 32 Dhanmondi in the capital. They brutally killed Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family members in a pre-planned attack.
The same day, Khondokar Moshtaque Ahmed assumed power, with Bangabandhu’s cabinet continuing under him.
Commerce minister in Bangabandhu’s government, Moshtaque right away seized power following Bangabandhu’s assassination.
Researchers find him to be just a “greedy” civilian, who was thrown out of power soon after the vested quarters he worked for received his maximum output through the assassination of Bangabandhu.
From the beginning, the country’s first military dictator Ziaur Rahman wanted to assume power. But he cunningly delayed that process by keeping civilian politicians in the front.
After the assassination of Bangabandhu, Moshtaque gave instructions and took decisions quite frequently.
Top leaders who refused to support him and to join his cabinet—Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmad, AHM Kamaruzzaman, M Mansoor Ali, Abdus Samad Azad—were imprisoned on August 23 of that year.
On September 1, the government abolished the system of one-party (Baksal) rule, earlier introduced through the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution.
As president, Moshtaque issued the Indemnity Ordinance on September 26, which provided legal immunity to all linked to the assassination of Bangabandhu and his family members from facing legal action or prosecution.
Moshtaque’s hold on power lasted a mere 83 days as he was ousted in a coup led by General Khaled Mosharraf on November 3.
Political analysts say that Moshtaque was used for the time starting from
the assassination of Bangabandhu to the subsequent appearance of a stable situation.
Witnesses as well as evidence at the trial of Bangabandhu’s assassins clarified that Ziaur Rahman was behind these plans. He fulfilled his self-interest by keeping Moshtaque on the frontline, to implement his ambition of seizing power.
Evidence of Zia's affiliation
Bangabandhu's personal assistant (resident) AFM Mohitul Islam, also a witness to the murder, filed a case with Dhanmondi police station on October 2, 1996, almost 20 years after the assassination.
The eyewitnesses were the then deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Nurul Islam (later SP), a guard of Bangabandhu's house, Havildar Quddus Sikdar, Naik Subedar Abdul Gani, soldier Sohrab Ali and housekeepers of Bangabandhu's house, Abdur Rahman Rama and Salim. They testified in court in the Bangabandhu murder case.
They submitted their depositions in court, where they narrated how the events unfolded in the attack.
The then president of the Comilla district unit Awami League, Professor Khurshid Alam, made it clear in his deposition that Moshtaque used to sneer at various policies taken up by Bangabandhu.
“In June-July (1975), a conference of the Department of Family Planning and Health was held at Daudkandi Madrasa. Moshtaque, Taheruddin Thakur and I were present there. Major Khandaker Abdur Rashid, Lt Col (dismissed) Syed Farooqur Rahman, Major Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan and some other military officers came there too.
“After the conference, Moshtaque, Taheruddin Thakur, Mahbub Alam Chashi, Major Rashed Chowdhury, Lt Col Farooq, Major Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan went to Moshtaque's house. The army chief Major General KM Shafiullah said: ‘Whenever I have taken action against any officer for indiscipline, those officers took shelter with Ziaur Rahman.’”
Once the attack on Dhanmondi 32 went underway, Bangabandhu contacted KM Shafiullah, who deposed: "When I spoke to Bangabandhu, he heard my voice and said: ‘Shafiullah! Your force attacked my house. Kamal might have been killed. Send your force immediately.'
“In reply, I said: ‘I am doing something. Can you get out of the house?’ When I called Zia and Khaled Musharraf, I asked them to come to my house immediately. They came to my house within 15 to 20 minutes. Zia was uniformed and shaven while Khaled Mosharraf came in his car in his night dress.”
Jobaida Rashid, the wife of assassin Lt Col Khandaker Abdur Rashid, said in her deposition: "One night, Major Farooq (another assassin) came back from Zia's house and told my husband that Zia wanted to become the president if the government changed.
“Zia said: "If it is a success, come to me. If it is a failure, don't involve me. It is not possible to change the government keeping Sheikh Mujib alive.'' A few days later, Major Farooq came to our house and told Rashid that Zia had said: “We need to find a political personality who can take over.” Accordingly, Rashid contacted Khandaker Moshtaque.''
Lt Col (dismissed) Farooq Rahman and Lt Col (dismissed) Rashid in August 1976 in an interview with England’s ITV described how they planned and killed Bangabandhu.
They related the extent to which Zia was involved in the planning of the coup. They said that when they contacted Ziaur Rahman, then the deputy army chief, regarding the plan to assassinate Bangabandhu and disclosed that to him, Zia asked them to go ahead and encouraged them.
Zia told them that if they succeeded, he would be with them.
Asked why Ziaur Rahman pushed Moshtaque towards power instead of assuming that himself first, Shahriar Kabir, president of Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee, said: "Zia had always used him like the Shikhandi character of Mahabharat.
“Fearing that he could be blamed for the murder and confused over the immediate reaction to it, Zia brought forth Moshtaque and found it safer to work from behind.”
Zia, he said, did it deliberately to confuse the Awami League too.
“Zia grabbed the opportunity by putting Moshtaque in power as an extremely greedy civilian. After having accomplished his plans through Moshtaque, Zia replaced him with Khaled Mosharraf, who had to quit too.”
