A Nation's Mourning 

A Dodge car screeched to a halt before the ammunition store of the 2nd Field Artillery in the moonless night of August 14.

It was around 11:30pm.

Major Rashid and Captain Jahangir got down from the car. Some 10 to 12 soldiers of the artillery and lancers were also with them. Major Rashid ordered the store guards to unlock the store.

The soldiers immediately swung into action, taking rifles, cannon rounds, Sten guns, submachine guns, light machine guns, pistols and revolvers out of the store in large numbers. Then the store was locked again on orders of the Major.

"You stay here. We might need more ammunition," Rashid told Nayek Jamrul, who was in charge of the store that night.

Rashid then hurriedly left the place on his fateful mission that was to change the country's destiny forever.

Events went ahead according to their well laid out plan. Around 4:00 in the morning, tanks rumbled down the empty roads to their destinations -- one of the teams headed for Bangabandhu's residence at House 677 of Road 32 in Dhanmondi.

Inside, everybody was still in deep sleep: President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, his wife Begum Mujib, their sons Sheikh Kamal, Sheikh Jamal and Sheikh Russell, daughters-in-law, and his brother Sheikh Naser. They did not know that they would not live to see the next day.

A few tanks stopped at the entrance of Road 32 while a few others went in, coming to a stop at the gate of the residence.

Dawn had not broken yet. AFM Mohitul Islam, personal assistant of Bangabandhu, 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!” Bangabandhu spoke in the phone from his first floor bedroom, “get the police control room immediately."

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 Ganobhaban 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."

Right at that moment, 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 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 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, saw the terrible events unfold. He was detained as soon as the soldiers entered inside the house.

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.