Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan (died 28 January 2010) was a

Bangladeshi army The Bangladesh Army () is the land warfare Military branch, branch, and the largest component of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The primary mission of the Army is to defend the land of Bangladesh from any external attack. Control of personnel and ...

officer who was convicted for the

assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first president of Bangladesh, was assassinated along with most of his family members during the early hours of 15 August 1975 by a group of Bangladesh Army personnel who invaded his Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, re ...

. On 28 January 2010, Rahman was hanged along with

Syed Faruque Rahman Sayed Farooq-ur-Rahman (9 August 1945 – 28 January 2010) was the chief organizer involved in toppling the Sheikh Mujib regime in Bangladesh. He was convicted and hanged on 28 January 2010 along with co-conspirators Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, ...

, A.K.M. Mohiuddin Ahmed, Mohiuddin Ahmed, and

Mohammad Bazlul Huda Mohammad Bazlul Huda (died 28 January 2010) was a Bangladeshi Army officer and freedom fighter who was convicted of the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, founding president of Bangladesh. On 28 January 2010, Bazlul was executed along with ...

Old Dhaka Central Jail Dhaka Central Jail was the largest jail in Bangladesh, located in the old section of Dhaka, the country's capital. The jail has been used to house criminals as well as political prisoners, especially during the Bengali language movement, Language ...

Career

In 1973 Khan was the Chief Inspector of Army School of Physical Training in

Comilla Comilla (), officially spelled Cumilla, is a metropolis on the banks of the Gomti River in eastern Bangladesh. Comilla was one of the cities of ancient Bengal. It was once the capital of Tripura kingdom. Comilla Airport is located in the Duli ...

. His friend and colleague, Major Shariful Haque Dalim and his wife, had gotten into a scuffle with the sons of Gazi Golam Mostafa, a politician of Bangladesh Awami League. Some officers ransacked the house of Gazi Golam which led to the officers including Dalim and Major S.H.M.B Noor Chowdhury being dismissed from the army over indiscipline. Khan resigned from the army over this incident. Khan opened a used consumer electronics store named Shery Enterprise in Dhaka. After his resignation, he maintained contact with some his fellow army officers both retired and in service. The army officers expressed dissatisfaction over how Bangladesh was being governed, the lack of benefits for Freedom Fighters, and the role of

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), also known by the honorific Bangabandhu, was a Bangladeshi politician, revolutionary, statesman and activist who was the founding president of Bangladesh. As the leader of Bangl ...

. They held a number of meetings discussing ways to change the government. On 14 August 1975 Khan met Government Minister

Khandaker Moshtaque Ahmed Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad (; 27 February 1919 – 5 March 1996) was a Bangladeshi politician. He was the Minister of Commerce in the third Mujib Rahman ministry under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and assumed the presidency of Bangladesh after the Ass ...

, who was to replace Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. On 15 August 1975, the army officers including Khan launched the coup. They divided into teams, one went to the residence of Sheikh Mujib, the one Khan was in went to the

Bangladesh Betar Bangladesh Betar (; ), is the state-owned radio broadcaster of Bangladesh, initially established as the Dhaka station of All India Radio in 1939. It was later made part of Radio Pakistan. After the independence of the country in 1971, Radio Pakis ...

(radio) office in Dhaka and took control of the broadcast system to control the flow of information. On 3 November 1975 he helped kill 4 national leaders of Bangladesh in jail, including former Prime Minister

Tajuddin Ahmed Tajuddin Ahmad (23 July 1925 – 3 November 1975) was a Bangladeshi politician. He led the 1st Government of Bangladesh as its prime minister during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, and is regarded as one of the most instrumental figures ...

. After the assassinations, he was appointed under the new chief of Defense staff Khalilur Rahman.

Trial

In 2004 Khan was sentenced to life imprisonment for his involvement in the jail killing case. On 19 November 2009, the

Supreme Court of Bangladesh Supreme Court of Bangladesh () is the highest court of law in the country. It is composed of the High Court Division, Supreme Court of Bangladesh, High Court Division and the Appellate Division, Supreme Court of Bangladesh, Appellate Division, ...

confirmed the death sentence handed out to 12 individuals for their role in the coup and assassination.

Death and legacy

Khan was hanged with 4 of his co-conspirators on 27 January 2010 at

. His daughter Shehnaz Rashid Khan and her brother in law, along with two others were arrested with the contraband

Ya ba ''Ya ba'' (, , literally 'crazy pill') is a drug containing a mixture of methamphetamine and caffeine. It was formerly known as ''yama'' (; literally 'horse drug'). Although it is illegal, it has considerable use in Southeast Asia. It is also k ...

on 7 August 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Sultan Shahriar Rashid 2010 deaths Bangladeshi lieutenant colonels Place of birth missing Year of birth missing Assassins of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Executed Bangladeshi people Executed assassins Executed military personnel Bangladeshi people convicted of murder People convicted of murder by Bangladesh People executed by Bangladesh by hanging 21st-century executions by Bangladesh Bangladeshi assassins