Successful coup The military coup in Bangladesh on August 15 of 1975 was launched by mid-ranking army officers in order to assassinate founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,[6][7] whose administration post-independence grew corrupt and reportedly authoritarian until he established a one-party state-based government led by the socialist party Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League.

[1][2] Mujib, along with his resident family members, were killed during the coup but was survived by his two then-expat daughters, one of them being future prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

[8] Immediately following the coup, one of Mujib's close associates and cabinet ministers Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad, with support of the officers, took control of the government and declared himself President of Bangladesh.

[10] Under martial law, he made a proclamation on 20 August to amend the constitution to omit the provision for the legal basis for one-party system.

[11] He reportedly praised the assassin officers, calling them "Children of the Sun", and proclaimed the Indemnity Ordinance, which granted them immunity from prosecution.

[12][13] Sheikh Mujibur Rahman won the 1970 Pakistani general election but was denied by the Pakistani military dictatorship the position of the prime minister of Pakistan; this was a result of long time political oppression of Bengali citizens of Pakistan who were vocally opposed to the authoritarian tyranny of the establishment.

As the democratic demands and protests continued, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman delivered a speech on 7 March that brought the Bengalis together to become prepared for things to come.

[17] According to these plans, they got involved in scuffles that made it seem they were unrelated to a deep-seated conspiracy and intentionally engineered political crises.

In 1973, Shariful Haque Dalim and his wife were involved in a scuffle with the sons of Gazi Golam Mostafa, a leader of the Awami League, at a function at the Dhaka Ladies club.

In retaliation, some officers and soldiers of the Lancer unit and 2 Field Artillery Regiment of the Bangladesh Army attacked Golam Mostofa's residence.

[18] The operation at the personal residence of President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was led by Major A. K. M. Mohiuddin Ahmed.

Major Bazlul Huda was placed in the team as he was the adjutant to the 2nd Field Regiment of Artillery, which was guarding the home of the President.

[21] Sheikh Kamal was injured defending the residence, and was executed by Captain Huda after the attackers had crossed into the compound.

[20][22][23] Colonel Jamil Uddin Ahmad, military secretary to the president, was killed on the way to Bangabondhu Residence after he was called by Sheikh Mujib.

[26][27] Abdur Rab Serniabat, a former minister of water resources and brother-in-law of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was killed in his home in Mintoo road, Dhaka at 5:00 am.

Justice Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem replaced Khandaker Moshtaque as president and Mosharraf was made the chief of army staff.

[32][33] On 7 November 1975, Khaled Mosharraf was killed in another coup that restored Ziaur Rahman to the chief of army staff.

[34] Taher himself was executed for the killing of Khaled under the government formed by Major General Zia on 21 July 1976, in order to restore discipline in the Army and prevent any further coups.

[37] AFM Mohitul Islam, personal assistant to President Sheikh Mujib, filed a charge against the mutineers with Dhanmondi Police Station on 2 October 1996.

The case was referred to a third Justice, Mohammad Fazlul Karim, who broke the tie by sentencing 12 of the accused to death.

On the 7 April 2020, Captain Abdul Majed who was hiding in Kolkata, India, was arrested at Mirpur by the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

[38] Lawrence Lifschultz characterized this incident as an outcome of the Cold War between the United States-influenced Pakistan and the Soviet Union-influenced India.