Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family members

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family members apart, a number of people were murdered in three separate incidents on August 15, 1975, but no effective move has yet been made to bring the guilty to justice.

Disgruntled army personnel killed Sheikh Mujib's nephew Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni, founding chairman of Awami Jubo League, and wife Arzu Moni at their Dhanmondi home. Mujib's brother-in-law Abdur Rab Serniabat, former water resources minister, was murdered at his Minto Road house.

A mortar attack by a group of army men killed 14 other people in Mohammadpur, taking the death count to 34 on that fateful day.

Three murder cases, separate from the killing of Bangabandhu, were filed in 1996, but they are still on the back burner.

Law Minister Shafique Ahmed said he was unaware of the present status of the three cases. Those were the home ministry's concern, he added.

Despite several attempts, Home Minister Sahara Khatun or State Minister for Home Shamsul Haque Tuku could not be reached yesterday for comment on the issue.

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said he would take steps to get the cases disposed of.

Alam said he would soon ask the government to provide him with necessary documents to revive the cases.

All cases involving the August 15 killings should be disposed of -- to bring the perpetrators to book, said the attorney general.

In January, five condemned killers of the father of the nation were executed after a Supreme Court verdict in the Bangabandhu murder case filed in October 1996.
SHEIKH MONI KILLING

A band of 25 to 30 army men surrounded Sheikh Moni's house-170 on Road 13/1 in Dhanmondi at around 1:30am on August 15, 1975.

Carrying Sten gun and Chinese rifle, eight to ten of them in black uniform went up to the first floor and got down after firing shots.

Moni's close aide Mohammad Shahabuddin, who was on the ground floor, went upstairs and saw Moni and his wife Arzu lying on the floor in a critical condition.

Moni's parents, younger sister Sheikh Rekha and brother Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim were sobbing.

Sheikh Maruf, younger brother of Moni, turned up there. Arzu cried to Selim for help and asked him to save them and their two sons -- Sheikh Fazle Shams Porosh and Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh.

Shahabuddin, Selim and Maruf took Sheikh Moni and Arzu to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital where the doctors declared them dead, read the statement of the murder case filed by Shahabuddin with Dhanmondi Police Station on November 20, 1996.

Sixteen people including former deputy minister Taheruddin Thakur were made accused in the case.

Criminal Investigation Department (CID) gave the final report in the case on August 22, 2002 and had it dismissed in secrecy, ignoring the legal bindings.

The Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court on December 30, 2002 accepted the final report and acquitted all accused without notifying the complainant.

Neither the investigation officer nor the court concerned informed the complainant about the fate of the probe.

SERNIABAT MURDER

A group of army personnel led by Maj Shahriar Rashid, Maj Aziz Pasha, Capt Majed and Capt Nurul Huda stormed Serniabat's residence on 27 Minto Road at about 5:00am.

They went up to the first floor and broke the door. Confused, Serniabat made a phone call to the residence of Bangabandhu.

The army officials rounded up the residents at the drawing room on the ground floor. Shahriar and Majed fired shots at them.

Frightened Beauty Serniabat caught hold of her father Abdur Rab Serniabat. Shahriar Rashid, Aziz Pasha and Nurul Huda fired shots again and left the scene.

Abdur Rab Serniabat, his nephew Shaheed Serniabat, daughter Baby Serniabat, son Arif Serniabat, grandson Babu Serniabat, who was four, domestic helps Potka and Laxmir Ma, and Abdur Naim Khan alias Rintu died on the spot.

Abul Hasnat Abdullah, son of Abdur Rab Serniabat, survived hiding behind a door.

Shahan Ara Begum, wife of Hasnat, her mother-in-law Amena Begum, brother-in-law Abul Khair Serniabat, sisters-in-law Beauty and Rina Serniabat, and domestic helps Rana, Rafiqul Islam, Lalit Das and Golam Mahmud were seriously injured, said the statement of a case filed by Shahan with Ramna Police Station on October 21, 1996.

Eighteen people were charged with murder in the case.

But the proceedings of the case were stayed by the High Court in November 1999 following a criminal revision filed by Bazlul Huda, one of the accused, against the order of charge framing.

The stay order remains in force till date.

MOHAMMADPUR MORTAR ATTACK

Mohammad Ali, a resident on Sher Shah Suri Road 8 area at Mohammadpur, woke up with wounds in his left thigh at about 5:30am. He heard sound of mortar fire.

Hearing cries, he went to a nearby house on Road-9 and found Rezia Begum, wife of the house owner, Musa, and their daughter Nasima dead.

He then went to House-196 and 197 on Shahjahan Road in the area where he saw bodies of Habibur Rahman, Anwara Begum, another lady by the same name, Moyful Bibi, Sabera Begum, Abdullah, Rafiqul, Safia Khatun, Shahabuddin, Kasheda, Aminuddin and Honufa Bibi, all killed in mortar fire.

Later he came to know that 14 people had been killed in Mohammadpur by mortar shells fired by a group of military personnel.

He also learned that Bangabandhu and most of his family members were dead, Ali said in the statement of a case he filed with Mohammadpur Police Station on November 29, 1996 accusing Syed Farooq Rahman and 10 others.

The case remains pending with the Fourth Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court in Dhaka.

BANGABANDHU SHEIKH MUJIBUR RAHMAN DEDICATED 

his life to establishing a democratic, peaceful and exploitation-free society called "Sonar Bangla" - Golden Bengal. He sacrificed his life to liberate the Bangalee nation, which had been groaning under the colonial and imperialist yoke for nearly 1,000 years. He is the founding father of the Bangalee nation, generator of Bangalee nationalism and creator of the sovereign state of Bangladesh.

My father spent nearly half his life behind bars and yet with extraordinary courage and conviction he withstood numerous trials and tribulations during the long period of his political struggle. During his imprisonment, he stood face to face with death on at least two occasions, but never for a moment did he waver.

As a daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, I heard many tales about him from my grandfather and grandmother. He was born on Mar. 17, 1920 in Tungipara, in what was then the British Raj. During the naming ceremony my great-grandfather predicted that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman would be a world-famous name.

My father grew up rural - amid rivers, trees, birdsong. He flourished in the free atmosphere inspired by his grandparents. He swam in the river, played in the fields, bathed in the rains, caught fish and watched out for birds' nests. He was lanky, yet played football. He liked to eat plain rice, fish, vegetables, milk, bananas and sweets. His care and concern for classmates, friends and others was well-known. He gave away his tiffin to the hungry, clothes to the naked, books to the needy and other personal belongings to the poor. One day, my grandfather told me, he gave his clothes to a poor boy and came home in his shawl.

At the age of 7, he began his schooling, though an eye ailment forced a four-year break from his studies. He married at the age of 11 when my mother was 3. He demonstrated leadership from the beginning. Once in 1939, he led classmates to demand repair of the school's roof - just when the premier of then undivided Bengal happened to be in town. Despite a deep involvement in politics, in 1946 he obtained a BA.

Bangabandhu was blessed from boyhood with leadership, indomitable courage and great political acumen. He played an active role in controlling communal riots during the India-Pakistan partition. He risked his life for the cause of truth and justice. He rose in protest in 1948 against the declaration of Urdu as the state language of Pakistan and was arrested the following year. He pioneered the movement to establish Bangla as the state language. In 1966, he launched a six-point program for the emancipation of Bangalees. In 1969, my father was acclaimed Bangabandhu, Friend of Bengal. His greatest strength (and weakness) was his "love for the people." He is an essential part of the emotional existence of all Bangalees.

The appearance of Bangladesh on the world map in 1971 was the culmination of a long-suppressed national urge. On Mar. 7, 1971, my father addressed a mammoth public meeting in Dhaka and declared: "The struggle now is the struggle for our emancipation, the struggle now is the struggle for Independence." He sent a wireless message, moments after a crackdown by the Pakistani army, declaring the Independence of Bangladesh in the early hours of Mar. 26. The world knows he courted arrest - and yet Bangabandhu emerged as the unquestioned leader of a newborn country.

Once in power, my father pursued a non-aligned, independent foreign policy based on peaceful coexistence. Its basic tenet: "Friendship to all, malice to none." He advocated world peace and declared his support for all freedom struggles. He supported the concept of a "Zone of Peace" in the Indian Ocean. In 1974, he was awarded the Julio Curie Prize for his devotion to the cause of peace.

But at a time when Bangladesh was emerging as an advocate for oppressed nations, his foes assassinated him on Aug. 15, 1975. My mother and three brothers were also killed. Even my younger brother Sheikh Russel, who was then nine, was not spared. The only survivors were my younger sister Sheikh Rehana and myself; we were on a trip to Germany.

Consequently, the political ideals for which Bangladesh sacrificed three million of her finest sons and daughters were trampled, and Bangladesh became a puppet in the hands of imperialism and autocracy. By assassinating Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the conspirators wanted to stop the country's march to freedom, democracy, peace and development. The process of law and justice were not permitted to take their course; human rights were violated. It is, therefore, the solemn responsibility of freedom- and peace-loving people to help ensure the trial of the plotters and killers of this great leader, my father.

Sheikh Hasina, daughter of the late Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, is the prime minister of Bangladesh.