August 15, the darkest of dawns
The dawn had not broken yet.
Tanks rumbled down the empty roads to their destinations -- one of the teams headed for President Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's residence at House 677 of Road 32 in Dhanmondi.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. A contingent of security personnel composed of police and army was discharging their duties there. Nurul Islam Khan, the then deputy superintendent of police, was supervising the guards on that night.
Inside the house, everybody was still in sleep: President Mujib, his wife Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib, his sons Sheikh Kamal, Sheikh Jamal and Sheikh Russell, daughters-in-law, and his brother Sheikh Naser.
They did not know they would not live to see the light of the next day as preparations for carrying out a barbaric assassination were almost done.
A few tanks stopped at the entrance to Road 32 while a few others went in, coming to a stop at the gate of the residence.
Bangabandhu's personal assistant AFM Mohitul Islam was on night duty at the residence. Suddenly the phone rang, and he sleepily picked up the receiver.
"Serniabat's [Bangabandhu's brother-in-law Abdur Rab Serniabat] house is under attack!
"Get the police control room immediately," Bangabandhu spoke on the phone from his first-floor bedroom.
Mohitul dialled the police but failed to get through. Just then Mujib came down to the office room and asked whether he could contact the police control room. Mohitul replied in the negative.
Mohitul finally got the line of the Gono Bhaban exchange. Someone picked up the phone there but would not speak. Impatient, the president took the handset himself and spoke into it: "This is President Sheikh Mujib speaking."
Just then a barrage of bullets shattered the windowpanes and hit the wall of the office room. The gunshots continued for a while. Bangabandhu's assassination mission by a group of disgruntled army officers had begun.
As the gunfire abated for a moment, Bangabandhu managed to talk to Gen Shafiullah over phone and asked him to send force immediately as his house was under attack. Shafiullah replied: "I am doing something; can you get out of the house?"
House help Abdul brought Bangabandhu's white punjabi and glasses from the first floor. Putting those on, the president came out on the veranda.
"There are shootings all around. What are you doing?" he shouted at the sentries. And then he went back to the upper floor.
Sheikh Kamal came down to the ground floor. He requested the army and police members to come with him.
At that moment three to four soldiers in khaki and black fatigues entered the premises. Mohitul recognised one of them as Captain Bazlul Huda, who shot Kamal dead.
The army men asked some soldiers to keep watch on Mohitul and others gathered near the gate and hurried to the first floor.
Havildar Md Quddus Sikder, who had arrived at the residence around 4:45am on his regular duty, was detained as soon as the soldiers entered the house. He saw Captain Bazlul Huda, Major Nur and Major Mohiuddin at the gate.
What unfolded next before Quddus was the terrible events.
Huda and Nur ordered him to follow them as they went up to the first floor along with their troops. As they walked up to the landing of the staircase, they saw Major Mohiuddin and his soldiers leading Bangabandhu down.
"What do you want?" Bangabandhu had asked.
Nobody answered.
Suddenly, Huda and Nur aimed their Sten guns at Bangabandhu and pressed the triggers. Burst fire from the submachine guns hit him.
The president collapsed on the stairs.
After killing Bangabandhu, the soldiers ran riot all over the residence. Bangabandhu's family members had taken shelter inside the bathroom of the main bedroom. But they were not spared.
The soldiers knocked on the door and fired a few rounds at it. Begum Mujib opened it and begged for the lives of her family.
The killers gunned Begum Mujib, Sheikh Jamal, his wife Rosy, and Kamal's wife Sultana. The bodies fell in a heap.
Then they took Sheikh Naser and Sheikh Russell to the ground floor and made them stand in a line. Naser pleaded to live, but the killers took him into the bathroom attached to Mohitul's office and shot him.
Naser begged for water, but a soldier shot him again.
Then happened the cruellest thing.
Trembling, Russell, Bangabandhu's 10-year-old son, wailed to be taken to his mother. Clutching Mohitul he asked: "Bhaiya, will they kill me too?"
"No Bhaiya, they won't kill you," Mohitul had tried to console him.
One of the soldiers took Russel upstairs to the spot where his mother lay dead. Then came a burst of gunfire.
After a while, Major Farooq Rahman met Bazlul Huda at the gate and asked him something.
"All are finished," Huda replied.
Comments