The first president of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and most of his family were killed during the early hours of 15 August 1975 by a group of young Bangladesh Army personnel who invaded his Dhanmondi 32 residence as part of a coup d'état. Minister of Commerce Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad immediately took control of the government and proclaimed himself president. The assassination marked the first direct military intervention in Bangladesh's civilian administration-centric politics. 15 August is National Mourning Day, an official national holiday in Bangladesh.
Background
Mujib's presidency
In the 1970 Pakistani general election, Sheikh Mujib's party, the Awami League (previously known as the Awami Muslim League), won the majority of the seats in the Pakistani National Assembly. They won 167 of the 169 seats in East Pakistan, which would later become Bangladesh after it seceded from West Pakistan. Despite Pakistan's military government delaying the handover of power, Mujib's house had become the de facto head of government in East Pakistan by March. At the start of the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, he was arrested in his home by Pakistani soldiers on 25 March midnight just after declaring the independence of Bangladesh. Later that year, the provisional government of the Bangladeshi rebellion, the Mujibnagar Government, formed on 10 April and made Mujib its head and also the leader of Bangladeshi armed forces. Following the defeat of Pakistani forces on 16 December 1971, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was released from custody from Pakistan in London on 22 December 1971 and flew to India followed by Bangladesh. Mujib led the government as Prime Minister of Bangladesh for three years after Bangladesh gained independence.
Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini controversy and outrage in the army
The Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini (JRB) was a controversial militia formed by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and loyal to him personally. Although it was originally founded as a law enforcing agency to maintain internal security, it became a second national armed-force and served as a political task force for the Awami League. As a result, it found little support among traditional military organisations such as the Mukti Bahini. Its 30,000 troops intimidated and tortured opponents of the Awami League in various ways. The military grew resentful of the level of funding the Rakshi Bahini received from the Mujib government, with the former's own funding being reduced to 13% in the 1975–76 budget, a considerable decrease from the 50–60% it enjoyed during the Pakistan period. This dissatisfaction is also considered one of the reasons for Mujib ur Rehman's assassination.
Allegation of nepotism and corruption within the Mujib-family
Sheikh Fazlul Haque Mani was given lucrative positions in the Government formed by Sheikh Mujibur. When private trade with India was banned due to slow inflation, Fazlul Haque actively engaged in it with Mujib ur Rehman's blessings. This was seen as an attempt by Mujib ur Rehman to form a dynasty.
Near the end of 1973, Sheikh Kamal was involved in a shootout in which he suffered gunshot injuries. Multiple claims have been made as to how the shootout occurred. Many people claim that it was during an attempted robbery of a bank by Sheikh Kamal and his friends. However, a retired major general of the Bangladesh Army claimed that it was actually a case of friendly fire. Near the end of 1973, Bangladeshi security forces received intelligence that the left-wing revolutionary activist Siraj Sikder and his insurgents were going to launch coordinated attacks around Dhaka. Police and other security officers were on full alert and patrolling the streets of Dhaka in plainclothes. Sheikh Kamal and his friends were armed and also patrolling the city in a microbus looking for Siraj Sikder. When the microbus was in Dhanmondi, the police mistook Sheikh Kamal and his friends for insurgents and opened fire on them, thus injuring Sheikh Kamal. However, it is also claimed that Sheikh Kamal and his friends were in Dhanmondi to test drive a new car that his friend Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku had bought recently. Since Dhaka was under heavy police patrolling, police special forces under the command of the then city SP Mahamuddin Bir Bikrom opened fire on the car thinking that the passengers were miscreants.
A 1976 issue of the Asia Yearbook stated, "It was an open secret - that Mujib's brother, Sheikh Nazir, was alleged to have monopolised the smuggling in the southeast; that his wife took a cut in contracting World Bank projects; that his son, Sheikh Kamal, had been involved in thuggery; and that his nephew, Sheikh Moni, was fast accumulating power and wealth.