Abu Taher Lieutenant Colonel Abu Taher ( retired - BD Army ) ( ) ( 1938 – 1976 ) was a communist and a left - leaning radical activist of the Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal , responsible for the Soldiers Mutiny and Uprising and the radical breakout that occurred in Dhaka , which killed countless officers and men , along with their spouses on November 7 , 1975 . As a Captain , Taher escaped from Pakistan during mid - July with three other fellow officers and successfully made contact with Indian authorities . He spent further two weeks at Dehradun , RAW HQ ' s , for debriefing and then sent to BDF HQ at Calcutta . With orders from 8 Theatre Rd . , he reported to BDF Sector Commander Major Ziaur Rahman who officially appointed him 2nd Sub - Sector Commander of the 11th Sector at Mahendraganj . On October 10 , 1971 , Major Shafaat Jamil under interim orders from Major Zia transferred command of Sector 11 to Taher temporarily . Just only 22 days later , Taher lost his leg from a grenade blast on November 2 and flown to Pune , India , for treatment . Squadron Leader M . Hamidullah Khan officially took command of BDF Sector 11 under authority of the Direct Order Transfer of Command from the Emergency Action Message tele - wired from Bangladesh Government interim HQ at 8 , Theatre Rd . Calcutta . On November 21 , 1971 , Major Taher received a medical board release from military service . He was temporarily reinstated in April 1972 in the Bangladesh Army and was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel . Early life and education . Lieutenant Colonel Abu Taher was born in Badarpur , Assam Province of British India on 14 November 1938 . He is from Kazla village in Purbadhala in Netrokona District of Bangladesh which is his ancestral home . After completion of higher secondary school from Sylhet M C College , he joined the Pakistan Army in September 1960 as an officer candidate . It is falsely claimed that Taher took a degree from the Institute of Social Welfare and Research of the University of Dhaka , even though there are no records of admission , courses taken or completion . Military career . Abu Taher received his Commission in 1962 as a second lieutenant in the Pakistan Army . Abu Taher joined the elite Special Service Group ( Commando Force ) in 1965 . Following his training , he participated in the Indo - Pakistani War of 1965 in the Sialkot sector of Kashmir . For his part , he received a war participation medal from the Pakistan Army . After the war , Taher took officers pre qualification course on Guerrilla Warfare at Fort Benning in the United States in 1969 . He was posted to the Quetta Staff College , Pakistan in 1970 . Role in Bangladesh Liberation War . Towards the end of July 1971 , Capt . Taher along with three other Bengali officers : Maj . Abul Manzoor , Capt . Dalim and Capt . Ziauddin defected from the Pakistan Army and crossed over the border near Abbottabad , West Pakistan , into India . After two weeks under Indian intelligence screening and debriefing , he was sent to BDF HQ at 8 Theatre Road . He was promoted to Major and posted to Sector 11 under Major Ziaur Rahman at Teldhala . Sector 11 was located across the Rangpur District , which comprised Mymensingh District , Tangail District and parts of the Rangpur District . After his arrival there , Major Ziaur Rahman appointed him Sub - Sector commander of the second sub - sector at Mahendraganj towards end of August . At departure with Z - Force towards Sylhet sector on October 10 , 1971 , under orders from Major Zia , Major Shafaat Jamil temporarily placed command of Sector 11 to Major Taher . After 22 days on November 2 , 1971 , Taher lost his leg from a grenade blast injury . Squadron Leader M . Hamidullah Khan was officially appointed Sector Commander of Sector 11 under direct orders from Colonel Osmani , BDF HQ . Taher was flown to Pune , India . On 21 November Taher received a Medical Board Release . His leg was later amputated there , where he remained until February 1972 . For his valour , he was awarded Bir Uttam . Post - liberation activities . Following his return , Taher was reinstated into Bangladesh Army in April due to the severe shortage of personnel , as many remained stranded in Pakistan , where most were interned as prisoners of war . He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and in June 1972 was appointed Commanding Officer of 44th Battalion of East Bengal Regiment at the Comilla Cantonment . Due to his left - leaning communist ideas of organising and reforming the Bangladesh Army along the model of the Chinese army , he resigned from the Bangladesh Army and joined Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal ( National Socialist Party ) . As Abu Taher ' s ideas of a social revolution with a central communist army grew , a mutiny rebellion occurred on November 3 , 1975 among senior officers and field unit commanders in the army , against those in charge since Sheikh Mujib ' s assassination in August 15 . Taher quickly took advantage of this , exacerbating dissent among ranking Non - Commissioned Officers and regular soldiers . Abu Taher incited and organised a socialist uprising of the soldiers on 7 November 1975 . Some revenge killings took place of a number of military officers and their wives due incidents dating back to injustices that occurred during the independence war in 1971 . Acts of treason and clear serious breach of military discipline and morale followed . Former Army chief of Staff , Major General Ziaur Rahman , who was released from house arrest by soldiers of 2nd FA Regiment worked to bring down the acts of treason and mutiny . Taher ' s actual intentions revealed further and he threatened to further instigate instability until his demands were met . Members of the army and their families demanded justice which was inevitable to bring back discipline and morale . Once Zia retook charge of the Army , he promised stability and ordered Lt . Col . Abu Taher , BD Army ( Retd . ) be arrested for charges of high treason and murder on 24 November 1975 . Taher was tried by a military tribunal inside the Dhaka Central Jail and was sentenced to death . He was executed by hanging on 21 July 1976 . The established myth , that Taher drove to Zia ' s Cantonment resident and released Zia from house arrest and restored Zia to power has been proven false by countless witnesses of the events of November 3 to November 7 , 1975 . Officers and men of the 2nd Field Artillery Regiment based inside Dhaka Cantonment 46 Brigade Garrison released Major General Ziaur Rahman and took him to 2nd FA Regmt . HQ . to quell the mutiny and uprising . Once Zia brought the chaotic situation under total control , drove to the Radio Station and declared over the radio waves regarding the situation of the country and brought it to calm restoring law and order . High Court ruling . On 22 March 2011 , during Awami League government ' s controversial influence over Bangladesh Judiciary , the High Court overturned the previous judgement that authorised Taher ' s execution by a military tribunal while the nation was under martial law . The military court judgement was declared illegal . The High Court bench illegaly suggested the government to consider Taher a martyr , which benches of the Judiciary cannot do . Sources . Ministry of Defence Gazette Notification No . 8 / 25 / D - 1 / 72 - 1378 , Dated 15 December 1973 . Sector Documents / 1971 / No . 11 Sector / Liberation War , Ministry of Liberation War Affairs , Sher - e - Bangla Nagar , Dhaka , Bangladesh . Bangladesh Army , Personnel Services Directorate - Records Office .