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Khaled Mosharraf the mastermind

Claims counsel for Huda, Mohiuddin; demands trials under army act, civil court

Ashutosh Sarkar
A defence counsel in Bangabandhu murder case yesterday claimed Khaled Mosharraf, then chief of general staff of the army, masterminded the August 15 killings in 1975.
Abduliah-al Mamun, lawyer for convicts Bazlul Huda and AKM Mohiuddin, came up with the claim while making submissions during the 20th day s hearing on five convicts' appeals against the High Court verdict in the historic case.
He pleaded with the five-member Appellate Division beqdfeheiM-ing the appeals to cortsMbr the August 15 carnage a mutiny. He prayed for a fresh trial of the case under the army act and retrial at the civil court under the penal code.
Mamun claimed Major General Ziaur Rahman, then deputy chief of the army, did not want to proclaim martial law. He rather wanted to uphold the constitution by having vice-president Syed Nazrul lslam[killed inside jail later that year) succeed to the presidency after the killing of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
He told the court that Brigadier General Khaled Mosharraf was an ambitious army official out to make the most of the conflict between Zia and the then army chief Major General KM Shafiullah.
Quoting from some witness statements, the lawyer also said Shafiullah and Zia directed Col Shafayat Jamil, then 46 Brigade chief, to go to Bangabandhu's Dhanmondi residence and resist the attack.
But Shafayat defied the orders as he was loyal to Khaled Mosharraf.
There were 105 army personnel in Khaled Mosharraf's regiment for security of Bangabandhu. Of them, 25 were at the Bangabandhu residence on Dhanmondi road No.32 and 80 were at Ganobhaban. But none of them put up resistance.
Mamun said all top army officials, not a few, were involved in the "mutiny".
The court however said the defence had failed to prove the August 15 incidents were the result of a mutiny in the army.
Mamun said the offence of killing army personnel on August 15 has to be tried under the army act and that of killing the civilians under the penal code.
He said four military men were killed on that day. They are Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, his son Second Lieutenant Sheikh Jamal, Colonel Jamil and Sepoy Shamsu. As president of the republic, Bangabandhu was the supreme commander of the armed forces, and so he was a military man.
Mamun claimed his client AKM Mohiuddin was not inYolvtxhiF>rtha^ nordoHtb' of August 15, 1975, and he is innocent.
Yesterday was the last day the SC heard the arguments from the convicts' counsels. The court set today for the state counsels to begin their submissions.
It will however allow Khan Saifur Rail man, counsel for convicts Syed Farooqur Rahman and Muhiuddin Ahmed, a few minutes today to reply to some queries of the bench.
The hearing will resume at 9:30am.