There have been several obstructions to justice following the brutal murder of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the four national leaders. Following those murders, an indemnity ordinance was issued giving legal immunity to the killers.
Twelve army officers who were involved in the assassination had been rewarded with jobs in diplomatic missions abroad in 1977 when Ziaur Rahman came to power through a military coup.
Furthermore, during General Ziaur Rahman’s regime, British jurists who set up the first enquiry into the murder of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the four leaders were barred from entering Bangladesh in January 1981 to investigate the gruesome killings of 1975.
Father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was killed along with most of his family members on Aug 15, 1975 when he was the President of Bangladesh.
Four national leaders - Syed Nazrul Islam, Vice-president, Tajuddin Ahmed, first Prime Minister, M Mansur Ali, Prime Minister, and AHM Qamaruzzaman, Industries Minister - were shot dead during detention inside Dhaka Central Jail on Nov 3, 1975.
Ziaur Rahman’s government did not issue visas to the jury causing an impediment to the course of justice so that it could not be served.
Individuals who are responsible for
causing delay in due course of justice
should be identified and brought to book.
The long wait for justice finally came to an end when the trial process of Bangabandhu's murder started 21 years after the gruesome multicide, when Awami League won the election in 1996.
The 12 convicted suspects were awarded death penalty in 2010 by the court, after a lengthy trial. However, four of them are still absconding with M Rashed Chowdhury living in the US and AHMB Noor Chowdhury in Canada. The whereabouts of Abdur Rashid and Shariful Haque Dalim are still not known.
The organizations and individuals who are responsible for causing delay in due course of justice should be identified. A Commission of Enquiry must be set up anew to bring these forgotten aspects of history to light.
