Crack Platoon Crack Platoon or Dhaka Crack Platoon was a special commando team of the Mukti Bahini which was formed in 1971 during the Bangladesh Liberation War . It was a suicide squad formed by young members of Mukti Bahini which carried out commando operations in Dhaka and its surroundings . The commandos were mostly students and civilians , received guerrilla training later in the training camps for Mukti Bahini in India and then engaged in battle against Pakistan Army . Background . In August 1947 , the Partition of British India gave rise to two new states ; the Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan , the latter intended to be a homeland for the Muslims of the Indian sub - continent . The Dominion of Pakistan comprised two geographically and culturally separate areas to the east and the west of India . The western zone was popularly ( and for a period of time , also officially ) termed West Pakistan and the eastern zone ( now Bangladesh ) was initially termed East Bengal and later , East Pakistan . Although the population of the two zones was close to equal , political power was concentrated in West Pakistan and it was widely perceived that East Pakistan was being exploited economically , leading to many grievances . Administration of two discontinuous territories was also seen as a challenge . On 25 March 1971 , rising political discontent and cultural nationalism in East Pakistan was met by brutal suppressive force from the ruling elite of the West Pakistan establishment , in what came to be termed Operation Searchlight The events of the nine - month conflict of the Bangladesh Liberation War are widely viewed as genocide ; the Pakistan Army and collaborators targeted Hindu communities , intellectuals and members of the political opposition for attacks . Historians have estimated that , during the conflict , between two hundred thousand and four hundred thousand women and children were raped leading to an estimated 25 , 000 war babies being born . Estimates of persons killed during the conflict range from between 269 , 000 to one to three million . An estimated ten million refugees entered India , a situation which contributed to its government ' s decision to intervene militarily in the civil war . Thirty million people were displaced . Susan Brownmiller documented that girls from the age of eight to grandmothers of seventy - five suffered rapes during the war . Formation . Formation of Muktibahini . The Mukti Bahini consisted of Bengali members of Pakistan armed forces and civilians from East Pakistan , in response to the Operation Searchlight on March 25 , 1971 , a violent military operation carried out by the Pakistan Army to curb the Bengali nationalist movement through selective genocide of Bengali people . Mukti Bahini used Guerrilla warfare tactics to fight against the Pakistan Army . India provided economic , military and diplomatic support to the Mukti Bahini , leading West Pakistan to launch Operation Chengiz Khan , a preemptive attack on the western border of India which started the Indo - Pakistani War of 1971 . The operation also precipitated the 1971 Bangladesh genocide and caused roughly 10 million refugees to flee to India . Essentially Bengali intelligentsia , academics and Hindus were targeted for the harshest treatment , with significant indiscriminate killing taking place . These systematic killings enraged the Bengalis , who declared independence from Pakistan , to achieve the new state of Bangladesh . Formantion and Deployment of Crack Platoon . In June , 1971 , World Bank sent a mission to observe the situation in East Pakistan . The media cell of Pakistan government was circulating a news that situation in East Pakistan was stable and normal . Khaled Mosharraf , a sector commander of Mukti Bahini , planned to deploy a special commando team . The task assigned to the team was to carry out commando operations and to terrorize Dhaka . The major objective of this team was to prove that the situation was not normal actually . Moreover , Pakistan . at that time , was expecting economic aid from World Bank , which was assumed to be spent to buy arms . The plan was to make World Bank Mission understand the true situation of East Pakistan and stop sanctioning the aid . Khaled along with A . T . M Haider , another sector commander formed the Crack Platoon . Initially , number of commandos in the platoon was 17 . Those commandos were receiving training in Melaghar Camp at that time . From Melaghar , commandos of Crack Platoon headed for Dhaka on June 4 , 1971 and launched guerrilla operation on June 5 . Later , number of commandos was increased , the platoon was split and deployed in different areas surrounding Dhaka city . Major Objectives and Success . The basic objectives of Crack Platoon were to demonstrate the strength of Mukti Bahini , terrorizing Pakistan Army and their collaborators . Another major objective was proving to the international community that the situation in East Pakistan was not normal . That commando team also aimed at inspiring the people of Dhaka who were frequently being victims of killing and torture . These objectives were successfully fulfilled by Crack Platoon . The world Bank mission , in its report , clearly described the hazardous situation that was prevailing in East Pakistan . In the report world bank mission prescribed to end the military regime in East Pakistan . Crack Platoon carried out several successful and important operations . The power supply in Dhaka was devastated which caused severe problem for Pakistan Army and the military administration in Dhaka . The Chinese restaurants in Dhaka had become almost prohibited for Pakistani army officers . Recognition and Awards . The role of Crack Platoon in the Bangladesh Liberation War was highly appreciated by the post war government of Bangladesh and the people . Six commandos of Crack Platoon were awarded Bir Bikrom , third highest gallantry award in Bangladesh and two commandos were awarded Bir Protik , fourth highest gallantry award in Bangladesh .