Agartala Conspiracy Case - The Trials

The Trials

Pakistan decided to try the accused under the court martial since a lot of the accused involved military personnel. However, this was overturned in favor of a civil trial in order to implicate the politicians ahead of the 1970 elections as well as to provide transparency of the trials. Hence, only 35 were finally accused. The accused were then moved from Dhaka Central Jail to the secured borders of the Dhaka Cantonment.

The penal codes were amended to benefit the prosecution of the accused, and trial began on 19 June 1968 under a special tribunal. The hearings took place inside a secured chamber within Dhaka Cantonment. The charge sheet of 100 paragraphs were presented before the tribunal, with 227 witnesses and 7 approvers.

The tribunal was headed by 3 judges - the chair, Justice SA Rahman was a non-Bengali; the other members MR Khan and Maksumul Hakim were Bengalis. The government was represented by the Attorney General TH Khan and former Foreign Minister Manzur Quader. Thomas Williams, a British lawyer, along with local attorneys challenged the formation of the tribunal by filing a petition in favor of Sheikh Mujib. The approvers appeared in the witness box and testified that they provided false evidence under the coercion of the State.

Members of public looked at the case as a conspiracy of the Pakistan government against the political autonomy movement of East Pakistan, especially since the government was keen to prove that Sheikh Mujib was an Indian agent and a separatist. They organized mass movement and demanded immediate withdrawal of the case and release of all prisoners. According to the government decision, the final date for the case was 6 February 1969. However, because of the mass upsurge of 1969, the government had to defer the date.

In the morning of 15 February 1969, a Pakistani habildar shot point blank at Sergeant Zahurul Haq at the door of his cell in the jail. The news of the killing led a furious mob to set fire to the State Guest House and other government buildings, where the chief lawyer for the government and the Chair of the tribunal resided. They vacated secretly. Some of the case files and evidences got burnt as a result of the arson.

In the face of mass movement, the government had to withdraw the Agartala Conspiracy Case on 22 February 1969. The accused were released on the following day, and the Race course Maidan saw a grand reception of the accused, where Sheikh Mujib was given his famous title Bangabandhu.