“The time has come to find out the main culprits involved in the conspiracy to kill Bangabandhu and bring them to book. Forming a high-level commission in this regard is very important,” he said.

He was speaking as the chief guest at a discussion organised by Bangabandhu Education and Research Parishad at the Jatiya Press Club, marking the 44th death anniversary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and observing the National Mourning Day.

“It’s very unfortunate that the governments between 1975 and 1996 tried to protect the killers and didn’t take any step to punishment them,” Siddique said.

On August 15, 1975, Bangabandhu, along with most of his family members, was assassinated. Military Secretary Brigadier General Jamil was also killed. Artillery shells fired by the killers on that day killed several members of a family in Mohammadpur area.

Five killers of Bangabandhu – Syed Farooq Rahman, Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, Bazlul Huda, AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed and Mohiuddin Ahmed – were hanged in January 2010. Another killer Aziz Pasha had met natural death in Zimbabwe in 2001.

Of the six fugitive killers, Maj (retd) Noor Chowdhury is living in Canada while Maj (retd) Rashed Chowdhury in the USA. The other four fugitive killers are Col (dismissed) Khandaker Abdur Rashid, Lt Col (relieved) Shariful Haque Dalim, Capt Abdul Majed and Risaldar Moslehuddin Khan.

“We demand the government to take immediate steps to form a high-level commission (to find out the killers),” the former DU VC said.

Deputy Attorney General Dr Md Bashir Ullah presided over the function. Candaian University of Bangladesh’s Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Mohammad Mahfuzul Islam, among others, spoke at the programme.