Black flags dotted Bangladesh's skyline as the country today observed the national mourning day, recalling the August 15, 1975 assassination of the nation's founding father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with most of his family members.
Thousands joined the mourning in rain soaked capital wearing black badges as army bugles played the last post while a combined military contingent offered ceremonial honour guards at the same house, where a section of army officers carried out the carnage in a predawn swoop 38 years ago.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangabandhu's surviving daughter, along with President Abdul Hamid placed wreaths on his grave at his village home at Tingipara in southwestern Faridpur while thousands thronged his residence at Dhanmandi area of the capital to pay their homage.
National flags were kept half mast across the country while the government declared it a public holiday to mark August 15 as the mourning day.
A total of 18 people including Bangabandhu's wife Begum Fazilattunesa three sons including 10-year-old son Russel were killed in the putsch that also toppled Bangladesh's post-independence Awami League government.
Hasina and her younger sister Sheikh Rehana survived the coup as they were abroad at that time.
Bangladesh executed five of the 11 convicted persons involved in the massacre who were earlier protected under a notorious indemnity law enacted by the post 1975 regime, which also had rewarded the killers with diplomatic assignments abroad.
Hasina three years ago promised to bring back the rest six convicted killers of her father and the family members saying "we will run in the rest of the convicted killers.
India said they would return convicts ex-captain Abdul Mazed and Risaldar Moslehuddin Khan if they could be tracked down as Bangladesh suspected they were hiding somewhere in the neighbouring country.
The officials, however, said they also believe one of the masterminds of the coup sacked colonel Abdur Rashid was operating a construction business in Libya and sacked major Shariful Haque Dalim was staying in Pakistan.
