"The Assassin Next Door" is the fourth episode of 49th season of Canadian documentary series '' The Fifth Estate''. The documentary was published by the

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

-state affiliated media

CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca. ...

. The investigative documentary episode is about on Noor Chowdhury, the assassin of the first President of Bangladesh Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and it focuses on questions that raises about Canada's silence in the case of Noor Chowdhury's staying in Canada.

Background

The first president of Bangladesh Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family members were

assassinated Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

on 15 August 1975 in his residence of Dhanmondi 32 by a group of young Bangladesh Army personnel as part of a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

. Minister of Commerce

Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad (also spelled Khandakar Mushtaq Ahmed; – 5 March 1996) was a Bangladeshi politician. He was the President of Bangladesh from 15 August to 6 November 1975, after the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He was part ...

immediately took control of the government and proclaimed himself president. The assassination marked the first direct military intervention in Bangladesh's civilian administration-centric politics. The trial of the assassins was ended on 8 November 1998 ordering the death sentence to fifteen out of the twenty accused of conspiring in the assassination. Many of them were executed and many of them were died of natural causes. Some person are absconding. Noor Chowdhury is one of them who is currently living in

Description

The documentary reveals how one of the assassins Noor Chowdhury had fled to

now residing in a condo in

Etobicoke Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district of, and one of six municipalities amalgamated into, the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west-end, Etobicoke was first settled by Europeans in the 1790s, and the municipalit ...

west of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. It explored the circumstances of the Noor Chowdhury case and included interviews with numerous prominent figures including

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Sheikh Hasina, the High Commissioner of Bangladesh in Canada Khalilur Rahman, and other individuals involved in the case. According to the documentary, Chowdhury is currently the most wanted criminal in Bangladesh. He was convicted in absentia and sentenced to death for

assassinating Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

the country's then

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in 1975, and helping to plan the massacre of 21 members of the president's family and household, including his 10-year-old son. He was filmed tending to plants on his balcony but fled when confronted by the journalist outside his residence. The

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...

including Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) refused to comment on the documentary about the case. Despite a deportation order issued by IRCC in 2006, Canada has been publicly silent on its reasons for allowing him to stay, driving a wedge between the two long-friendly countries. The documentary also shows the friendship between

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

in the time when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada The prime mini ...

were in power.

Cast

* Sheikh Hasina,

Prime Minister of Bangladesh The Prime Minister of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের প্রধানমন্ত্রী, translit=Bangladesher Prodhanmontri), officially Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজা� ...

, daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. *

Anisul Huq Anisul Huq or Anisul Hoque ( ar, انیس الحق) meaning "friend of the truth", is a Muslim male given name. Notable people with the name include: *Anisul Haque Chowdhury (Rangpur politician) (died 2011), Bangladesh Awami League Member of Parli ...

Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs ( bn, আইন, বিচার ও সংসদ বিষয়ক মন্ত্রণালয়; ''Ā'ina, bicāra ō sansada biṣaẏaka mantraṇālaẏa'') is a ministry of the govern ...

, chief special prosecutor for the

assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman The first president of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and most of his family were killed during the early hours of 15 August 1975 by a group of young Bangladesh Army personnel who invaded his Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, Dhanmondi 32 resi ...

case. * Khalilur Rahman, High Commissioner of Bangladesh in Canada. *

Stockwell Day Stockwell Burt Day Jr. (born August 16, 1950) is a Canadian former politician who led the Canadian Alliance from 2000 to 2001, and a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. A provincial cabinet minister from Alberta, Day served as minister ...

, former Canadian Minister of Public Safety. *

Abdul Kahar Akond Abdul Kahar Akond () was a Bangladeshi police officer who served as the additional DIG of police in the Criminal Investigation Department. Career Akond investigated major crimes during the first Sheikh Hasina led Awami League government from 199 ...

, former additional DIG of

Bangladesh Police The Bangladesh Police ( bn, বাংলাদেশ পুলিশ) of the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a law enforcement agency, operating under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It plays a crucial role in maintaining peace, and enforcement ...

in the Criminal Investigation Department, investigation officer of the

Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman The first president of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and most of his family were killed during the early hours of 15 August 1975 by a group of young Bangladesh Army personnel who invaded his Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, Dhanmondi 32 resi ...

. * Rob Currie, Canadian international criminal law expert, professor of law at

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...

. * Abdur Rahman Chowdhury Rama, resident of Dhanmondi 32 as a young boy in 1975. * Noor Chowdhury, former

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

of Bangladesh Army, assassin of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

References

External links

Documentary on CBC Gem
*
Documentary website

Documentary website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Assassin Next Door CBC Television original programming CBC News Network original programming Investigative documentary television series 2023 films 2023 television films 2023 documentary films Sheikh Hasina Cultural depictions of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Films about Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Documentary films about Bangladesh Political scandals in Bangladesh 2020s English-language films 2020s Canadian television news shows