Dhaka: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday paid rich tribute to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by placing a wreath at his portrait in front of Bangabandhu Memorial Museum at Dhanmondi, marking the Martyred Intellectuals Day.

After placing the wreath, she stood there for some time as a mark of respect to the memory of Bangabandhu, the architect of Bangladesh’s independence.

Flanked by central leaders of the party, Sheikh Hasina, also the president of Bangladesh Awami League, laid another wreath at the portrait of Bangabandhu as the party chief, reports local news agencies.

On the night of 14 December, 1971, over 200 Bangladeshi intellectuals, including professors, journalists, doctors, artistes, engineers, and writers were picked up in Dhaka by the Pakistani occupation forces, aided by their local collaborators.

The intellectuals were taken blindfolded to torture cells in Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Nakhalpara, Rajarbagh and other locations in different parts of the city and later executed en masse at different killing grounds, most notably Rayerbazar and Mirpur.