Shamsul Alam Bir Uttam passes away
Valiant freedom fighter and Swadhinata Padak winner Group Capt (retd) Shamsul Alam (Bir Uttam) died yesterday.
He was 76.
He was undergoing treatment at a city hospital for cancer. He breathed his last at 4:47pm, according to a press release of Confidence Group. He was a former chairman of the group.
Shamsul is survived by his wife, a son, a daughter, grandchildren and a host of relatives and well-wishers.
His namaz-e-janaza will be held at Gulshan Azad mosque after Juma prayers today (Friday). Later, he will be laid to eternal rest at the Banani graveyard.
He was awarded Bir Uttam for his gallantry in the Liberation War in 1971.
He was a member of "Operation Kilo Flight", the first bombing raid of brave Bangladeshi pilots during the Liberation War.
The operation had significantly turned the tide of the war, as it decimated Pakistan army's oil supply and made it impossible for them to continue a prolonged war.
In early stage of his career, Shamsul served the erstwhile Pakistan Air Force as a commissioned officer in 1967. He received special training in operating fighter jets and commercial planes.
After the Liberation War started, he was put under tight surveillance in Pakistan Air Force's Chaklala base until June. He fled to Bangladesh but was caught by the Pakistani military at Tejgaon airport.
He escaped in August and managed to get to India.
Before retiring in 1984, he served different important posts in Bangladesh Air Force.
Shamsul received Swadhinata Padak, the highest civilian award bestowed by the government, in 2017.
Confidence Group expressed deep shock and sorrow at the death of Shamsul and prayed for eternal peace of the departed soul.
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