The next target was the Reserve Police Lines where 20,000 rifles were reportedly stocked, to be used by an assortment of rebels. A battalion-strength attack was launched there, too, but the defenders proved less dogged than the East Pakistan Rifles personnel and soon withdrew towards the Kaplai Road.
The key role in neutralizing these points of resistance was played by Brigadier Ansari. His gallant services were later recognized by the award of the Hilal-i-Jurat Pakistan's second highest gallantry award, and promotion to the rank of Major-General (although earlier he had been superseded).
The main operations in Chittagong were over by the end of March but the mopping up action continued until 6 April. The other two towns where the rebels had an upper hand were kushtia and Pabna. Let us see how our troop fared there.
Kushtia, about 90 kilometers from Jessore, is an important road and rail junction. Our troops were not permanently located there but, on the D-day, 27 Baluch (Jessore) had sent one of its companies just to establish our presence there, l'or want of proper briefing the company carried only small arms, a few recoilless rifles and a limited quantity of ammunition. They thought that they were going on normal internal security duty, which usually did not involve heavy fighting.
The company commander distributed his manpower is small groups and assigned them the task of guarding the telephone exchange and V.H.F station. He also sent small parties to arrest the local Awami League leaders-but they had all left. He established his presence, after killing five rebels on the first day (26 March). Thereafter it was only enforcement of curfew and collection of arms from the civilians. Two days passed peacefully.
On 28 March, at about 9.30 p.m. the local Superintendent of Police, pale with fear, came to the company commander. Major Shoaib, and reported that the rebels had gathered in the border town of Chuadanga, about 16 kilometers from Kushtia and were about to attack the town at night. They were also threatening to kill all ‘collaborators’. The company commander passed a word of caution to his platoons but the troops did not take it very seriously. They did not even bother to dig their trenches.
The attack commenced at 3.45 a.m. (29 March) with heavy mortar shelling. It jolted our troops out of all illusions of safety.
They soon realized that the attackers were none other than the troops of I East Bengal which had been sent out from Jessore cantonment for training. They had been joined at Chuadanga by the Indian Border Security Force (B.S.F). (Four Indian B.S.F. soldiers were captured near Jessore and two near Sylhet.)
The scene of the battle was the police armory occupied earlier by our troops. The rebels managed to climb in to the adjoining three-storey red brick house of a local Judge and used it as a vantage point. From there they sprayed bullets into the police building. At dawn, five of our men lay dead in the compound. By 9 a.m. the toll had risen to eleven.
