Armed army personnel entered Dhaka Central Jail in the early hours of November 3, 1975, and killed four detained senior leaders of the Awami League, according to a detailed eyewitness account later provided by the jailer on duty.
At approximately 1:30 a.m., a pickup truck carrying several soldiers arrived at the main gate of the prison. Dhaka was then in a state of acute political instability, with reports of successive coups and counter-coups within the armed forces. Jailer Aminur Rahman was urgently summoned by the Inspector General of Prisons. Upon reaching the gate, he observed the armed soldiers handing a document to the Inspector General; the contents of the document were not disclosed to him.
Shortly thereafter, a telephone call indicated that the president wished to speak with the inspector general. Following the conversation, the Inspector General conveyed the president’s instruction that prison authorities were to comply with whatever the army officers requested.
By around 3 a.m., an order was issued to assemble four Awami League leaders held in the jail. Syed Nazrul Islam and Tajuddin Ahmad were already in one cell; Captain Mansur Ali and AHM Kamaruzzaman were brought from another.
Captain Mansur Ali changed his clothes before joining the group. Tajuddin Ahmad was reading the Quran. None of the four enquired about their destination. Syed Nazrul Islam washed his hands and face. Rahman informed them that army personnel had arrived.
Moments later, as Rahman began to speak, the soldiers opened fire, killing all four leaders.
The account was given by former jailer Aminur Rahman in a 2010 interview with BBC Bangla. He stated that the events unfolded in his presence under the direction of then-President Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad, who was supported by the army chief, Major General Ziaur Rahman, and other officers responsible for the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on August 15. The same gang of army officers under killed Major General Khaled Musharrof on November 7 and captured power.