Monday marks 4 years of BDR mutiny

Monday marks the fourth anniversary of the bloody BDR mutiny, which saw 74 people including 57 army officials killed.

The mutiny by some members of the then Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) had started in the Peelkhana headquarters of the border guards in the capital Dhaka on Feb 25, 2009 and ended the following day.

The mutiny had spread to other BDR camps across the country but no killing was reported outside Dhaka. The incident also drew international concern.

After the mutiny, BDR was renamed Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and its uniform changed.

So far, a total of 57 cases were filed in different parts of the country over two types of charges – one for serious crimes like murders and looting and the other for mutiny.

The trials of the cases filed over the mutiny had concluded on Oct 20 last year with a special court pronouncing the last verdicts at the Peelkhana headquarters.

But the trials of the cases, over murders, looting charges and under the explosives act, filed with Kotwali and New Market police stations are still continuing.

Some 5,926 of more than 6,000 accused were sentenced different terms in jail with the highest seven-year imprisonment to 870 convicts while 115 were acquitted in the 57 mutiny cases.

Meanwhile, the trial of the killings is being held under the Criminal Procedure Code. Around 900 people were made accused in the case.

The Criminal Investigation Department of the Police have pressed charges against 836 people in the explosive attack case.

Former BNP lawmaker Nasiruddin Ahmed Pintu and local leader of Awami League Torab Ali and BNP local leader Suraiya Begum are also accused in the case. Of the total accused, three died while 20 remain fugitive.

More than half of the witnesses including Junior LGRD Minister Jahangir Kabir Nanak, State Minister for Law Quamrul Islam have already finished deposing in the murder case filed over the carnage at Peelkhana.

Public prosecutor Mosharraf Hossain Kajol told bdnews24.com the number of witnesses in the case was being cut off to complete recording testimonies by March.

“The hearing of the explosive act case will start as soon as the murder case ends,” he said.

Defence lawyer Shameem Sardar alleged the case was being settled hurriedly.

“The charges in the explosive act case are yet to be framed. It is nothing but a strategy by the government to keep those who will be released in the murder case behind bars under a different pretext,” he said.

The BGB has chalked out elaborate programmes in memory of the bloody day.

BGB will organise ‘milad-mahfil’ (special prayer) at the region, sector, institution, unit and BOP levels, a BGB statement signed by its Public Relations Officer Mohammad Mohasin Reza read.

Source: bdnews24