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Published : 03 Nov 2023, 09:32 AM
The Awami League and its affiliate organisations have paid tribute to the four national leaders who were assassinated 48 years ago on Jail Killing Day.
On Nov 3, 1975, four leaders of the wartime national government -- acting President Syed Nazrul Islam, Prime Minister Tajuddin Ahmad and cabinet ministers M Mansur Ali and AHM Quamruzzaman -- were brutally killed inside Dhaka’s Central Jail.
They were murdered while in state custody as the country witnessed sweeping changes in politics amid the chaos that followed Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s assassination on Aug 15, 1975.
The day Bangladesh was robbed of its top national leaders has since been remembered as Jail Killing Day.
On Friday, the Awami League central office, Bangabandhu Bhaban and other Awami League offices across the country lowered the national flag and party flag to half-mast, while black flags were hoisted as a symbol of mourning.
Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader, on behalf of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, paid tribute to the four leaders at the mural of Bangabandhu at the Bangabandhu Bhaban in Dhanmondi at 7:30 am. He was later joined by other Awami League leaders to pay their respects.
Afterwards, leaders of the ruling party visited the Banani Graveyard, where they paid their respects to the family members of Bangabandhu, who were assassinated on Aug 15, and the national leaders who were killed in jail on Nov 3. A special prayer service was held as flower petals were scattered on their graves.
Various Awami League affiliated organisations, as well as social, political, and cultural groups, also paid tribute to the national leaders. In Rajshahi, homage was paid at AHM Quamruzzaman's grave.
Quader questioned the ongoing politics of violence and conspiracies in Bangladesh, reflecting on the numerous assassinations that have occurred since 1975. He pointed out that these acts were motivated by a desire for revenge from the defeated anti-liberation forces in 1971, which continues to harm the nation's spirit.
"These forces have sowed the seeds of communalism and have found refuge in the BNP," he said.
“The killings on Aug 15 and Nov 3, 1975, weren’t normal. These incidents formed part of a larger conspiracy."
