Abdul Majed
আব্দুল মাজেদ
Born22 June 1948
Batmara, East Bengal, Pakistan (now Barisal, Bangladesh)[1]
Died(2020-04-12)12 April 2020 (aged 72)
Dhaka Central Jail, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Cause of deathExecution by hanging
Criminal statusExecuted
Conviction(s)Murder (assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman)
Criminal penaltyDeath
Military career
Allegiance Bangladesh
Service/branch Bangladesh Army
Years of service1970-1980
Rank Captain
UnitEast Bengal Regiment
Commands held
  • Adjutant of Bengal Lancers
Known forAssassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

Abdul Majed (22 June 1948 – 12 April 2020)[2] was a Bangladeshi military officer who was convicted for his role in the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding president of Bangladesh.[3][4]

Career

Majed was a captain in the Bangladesh Army. He was appointed to the Bangladeshi Embassy in Senegal. He retired from the Bangladesh Army in 1980 and joined the civil administration as a Deputy Secretary. He worked at the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation. He was promoted to the rank of Secretary. He joined the Ministry of Youth and Sports as the director of youth development. He was appointed the Director of National Savings Directorate. He disappeared in 1997 after Sheikh Hasina, daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was elected Prime Minister of Bangladesh.[5]

Conviction and execution

On 14 August 1975, Majed and other officers looted weapons from the Bengal Lancers armory. On 15 August 1975, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family members were killed in the 15 August 1975 Bangladesh coup d'état. Majed and the other officers met at the Bangabhaban and created a new government with Khandaker Mushtaq Ahmed in charge.[6][7] He was part of the team which attacked the residence of Abdur Rab Serniabat, brother-in-law of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.[8][9]

On 2 November 1975, Majed and the other army officers involved in the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman met Khandaker Mushtaq Ahmed at the Bangabhaban. There a decision was made to carry out the Jail Killing to kill four national leaders of Bangladesh Awami League. The leaders were Abul Hasnat Muhammad Qamaruzzaman, Muhammad Mansur Ali, Syed Nazrul Islam, and Tajuddin Ahmed.[10]

In 1998, Majed was sentenced to death for the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by a trial court.[11]

On 19 November 2009, Majed's death sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court of Bangladesh along with 12 other convicts. Five of the convicts were executed on 27 January 2010. They were AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed, Bazlul Huda, Mohiuddin Ahmed, Syed Farooq Rahman, and Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan. Another convict, Abdul Aziz Pasha, died in Zimbabwe. The convicts who absconded were Majed, Khandaker Abdur Rashid, Noor Chowdhury, Risaldar Moslehuddin Khan, Rashed Chowdhury, and Shariful Haque Dalim.[12][13][14]

In 2015, the government of Bangladesh confiscated Majed's properties in Bangladesh, which included 1.35 acres in the Borhanuddin Municipality in Bhola District.[15] On 28 August 2008, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for the jail killing case.[10]

Majed was arrested on 7 April 2020 at Mirpur by the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police. He was sent to Dhaka Central Jail, Keraniganj by a court in Dhaka. He told Bangladesh police officers that he had been hiding in Kolkata for the last 23 years.[5][16][17][18] Majed was executed by hanging on 12 April.[18]

References

  1. ↑ "President rejects Bangabandhu killer Majed's mercy plea". banglanews24.com. 9 April 2020.
  2. ↑ "Bangladesh hangs killer of independence leader". www.aa.com.tr. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  3. ↑ "Bangabandhu's killer Abdul Majed arrested, sent to jail". The Daily Star. 7 April 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  4. ↑ "Condemned Mujib killer Majed held". New Age. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Bangabandhu Killing: Convicted killer held, sent to jail". The Daily Star. 8 April 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  6. ↑ "Mohiuddin's confession". The Daily Star. 19 November 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  7. ↑ "Shahriar's confession". The Daily Star. 19 November 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  8. ↑ "No justice yet in 3 other Aug 15 cases". The Daily Star. 15 August 2010. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  9. ↑ "FACTBOX: Aug 15 victims". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  10. 1 2 "Mushtaq met all accused on Nov 2 night". The Daily Star. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  11. ↑ "Killer of Bangladesh independence leader arrested after 45 years on run". The Guardian. Associated Press. 7 April 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  12. ↑ "Bangabandhu's killer Abdul Majed arrested". Dhaka Tribune. 7 April 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  13. ↑ "6 Killers of Bangabandhu: No progress in bringing them back". The Daily Star. 15 August 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  14. ↑ "Bangabandhu Mujibur Rahman's killer Abdul Majed arrested in Bangladesh". The New Indian Express. 7 April 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  15. ↑ "Property of Bangabandhu's killer confiscated". The Daily Star. 19 August 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  16. ↑ "Majed was hiding in Kolkata for 23 years". The Daily Star. 7 April 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  17. ↑ "Bangladesh arrests fugitive in killing of independence leader". The Washington Post. 7 April 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  18. 1 2 "Sheikh Mujibur Rahman: Army officer hanged for murder of Bangladesh's founding president". BBC News. 12 April 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
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