On 7 March 1971, Governor East Vice-Admiral Syed Mohammad Ahsan and Eastern Commander Lieutenant-General Yaqub Ali Khan were relieved of their respected post, leaving to Lieutenant-General Tikka Khan who initiated the massive military crackdown after the raid in the Dhaka University. Air Cdre Masud suffered high-level local defections from his own staff when Group Captain A. K. Khandker and Wing Commander M. K. Bashar escaped to India in May 1971. During Operation Blitzkrieg, Masud refused an order to dispatch an air strike against armed civilians.