Along with fifteen others, Bhagwandas took part in a coup d'état (the Sergeants' Coup) in Suriname on 25 February 1980. Discontent had increased among the general public, so Bhagwandas suggested taking action stating, at a meeting of the military in early December, that it was necessary to do something drastic to save the "revolution". Over the following days it was decided to arrest a number of opponents of the military dictatorship. Bhagwandas was in charge of the arrests and the internment of these individuals in Fort Zeelandia.