Today is the 53rd martyrdom anniversary of the Liberation War鈥檚 hero Birshreshtha captain Mohiuddin Jahangir.
The people of Chapainawabganj remember the day every year with mixed feelings of solemnity, joy, and sorrow as Birshreshtha Jahangir sacrificed his life to free the then Nawabganj sub-division from the clutches of the Pakistani occupation forces and their collaborators after fierce fighting on December 14 in 1971.
Different programmes, including hoisting the national flag, placing wreaths at the grave of Birshreshtha Jahangir on Sonamasjid premises and at his monument at Rehaichar near Mohananda Bridge, and milad mahfil will be held to mark the day.
Born on 8 March in 1949 at Rahimganj village under Babuganj upazila in Barishal district, Jahangir joined the armed forces as a cadet at the Pakistan military academy on October 5, 1967. After completing training, he joined as a commissioned officer at engineering core.
Later, Jahangir got posted to the 173rd engineer battalion in Multan. After working with the battalion for six months, he was shifted to the military college of engineering in Risalpur. Following finishing the 13-month-long training, he took the bomb disposal training.
In 1971, Jahangir was working at the construction site at Karakoram. On June 10, he took a few days leave and went back to Risalpur. One day later, he started his journey towards the Sialkot border to reach India. He managed to cross the border safely and joined the Mukti Bahini. On July 3, he became a captain of sector 7 with the responsibility to fight in Chapainawabganj.
On December 14, Jahangir, along with his co-fighters, crossed the Mohananda River near Akandabaria and camped at Rehaichar near Chapainawabganj town before dawn.
He intended to destroy one of the light machine gun bunkers of the Pakistan army and crawled towards it. He managed to come closer to the bunker and charge a grenade to it. But he was fired from another bunker, and immediately shot dead.
Later, a group of freedom fighters recovered his body from Rehaichar, now the southern part of Birshreshtha Shahid Captain Mohiuddin Jahangir Bridge the next morning, and buried him on the Choto Sona Mosque premises under Shibganj Thana.
