Bangabandhu's grandson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's ICT Affairs Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy revisited the August 15, 1975 episode that saw the brutal assassination of Sheikh Mujib along with most of his family members, claiming Khandakar Moshtaq Ahmed and General Ziaur Rahman were among those who masterminded the carnage.
"The assassins gunned down the family members inside the Dhanmondi residence, which stands as a testimony to all the key events in the run-up to the 1971 liberation war. The residence turned into a pool of blood," he wrote in a Facebook post on the Bangabandhu's 48th martyrdom anniversary on Tuesday.
He added, "Khandakar Moshtaq and General Ziaur Rahman were among those who masterminded the massacre".
Following that gruesome killing, subsequent rulers embraced fundamentalist forces, putting an end to the pledge of secular Bangladesh, a dream that the founding father promised for his people, Joy said.
Paying glowing tributes to the founding Father of the Nation, Joy said Bangabandhu was revered for his strong personality and steely resolve to stand for the cause of his people.
"Fearful of Bangabandhu's tenacity, the Pakistan army always kept tabs on his movement. Defying Pakistan Army's round-the-clock surveillance, Bangabandhu shored up public support across the country for his six-point demand, considered as our charter of freedom," he added.
As the Pakistan army launched the infamous Operation Searchlight on unarmed civilians on March 25, their prime target was the Dhanmondi residence of Bangabandhu, Joy said.
As a group of soldiers stormed his house, a defiant Bangabandhu shouted at them "Stop gunfire", a call that clearly testifies to his courage, he said.
After Bangladesh earned freedom, Joy said, Bangabandhu embarked on a mission to rebuild a war-torn country, left devastated by the Pak army.
"But the mission was beset with insurmountable challenges. He (Bangabandhu) had to start from scratch with almost no reserve to every road left in battered condition," he said.
But at the call of the charismatic leader, youths and war heroes took part in the pursuit to rebuild their motherland, Joy added. On the diplomatic front, Bangabandhu's growing international stature led his country welcomed by a number of international bodies including the UN, OIC and Commonwealth, said the premier's ICT adviser.
In a span of three years, the growth rate reached 11 per cent, braving all the odds, a quarter that opposed the country's independence, teamed up to ruin the progress, he added.
A cabal comprising national and international forces, that attempted to stop the birth of the country, indulged in a conspiracy that resulted in the brutal massacre of the Bangabandhu and 19 of his family members on August 15, 1975, he said.
