Families of the then Bangladesh Rifles members jailed over the 2009 BDR mutiny on Friday demanded re-investigation into their cases.
The BDR mutiny broke out between February 25 and 26, leaving 75 people, including 57 army officers killed.
Abdullah Al Mamun, a BDR family member, placed eight demands, including re-investigation into the murder case, at a press conference at the National Press Club under the banner of 鈥楩amilies of BDR members tortured in jail鈥�.
Their other demands are unconditional release of all innocent BDR members now in jail, publishing the probe report for ensuring fair and impartial investigation for finding out the exact reason behind the killing of BDR members after torture in jail, ensuring punishment for the perpetrators, reinstatement of sacked BDR members in their jobs, compensation for all martyred army and BDR members with salaries, allowances and pensions and their rehabilitation, re-establishing the name of Bangladesh Rifles instead of Border Guard Bangladesh and declaring February 25 and February 26 as 鈥楽haheed Sena Dibas鈥�.
鈥楾here is a law in the BDR. One can get seven years鈥� imprisonment as maximum punishment under the law,鈥� said Abdullah Al Mamun, posing a question why two cases were filed against the BDR members, one murder case and another under the Explosive Substances Act.
He also alleged that all BDR members were tortured in the name of placing them on remand.
BDR Kalyan Parishad president Faizul Alam said that Pilkhana carnage was a planned killing by then Awami League government.
鈥楢 total of 18,519 members were sacked from their jobs over the killings. Many were sentenced to different terms. Some of them were sentenced to death while some others had already completed their life imprisonment terms. They, however, are not getting bail,鈥� he said.
He claimed that they were not securing bail as they were accused in the case under the Explosive Substances Act.
Another jailed BDR member鈥檚 son lawyer Abdul Aziz said that no bail hearing was held in the past 16 years.
Aziz urged the authorities concerned to hold bail hearing on the next date.
On February 25, 2009, several hundred Bangladesh Rifles soldiers took arms against their officers deputed from the army at Durbar Hall during their annual gathering at the paramilitary force鈥檚 headquarters in Dhaka, leaving 75 people鈥�57 army officers, two wives of army officers, nine BDR soldiers, five civilians, an army soldier, and a police constable鈥攌illed.