Voices for justice over the killings of 74 people, including 57 army officers, in the then Bangladesh Rifles headquarters at the capital鈥檚 Pilkhana during the 2009 BDR mutiny have been getting louder since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina regime on August 5, 2024 amid a mass uprising.
Besides the families of slain officers, survivors, sacked BDR members and their families and a group of students who led the 2024 July-August mass uprising also took to the streets to raise voices demanding justice.
The BDR mutiny was held in February 25-26, 2009, less than two months after the December 29, 2008 national election through which the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League came to power. The 16th anniversary of the BDR mutiny is going to be observed today.
The protests from slain army officers鈥� families and student leaders forced the interim government to form the National Independent Investigation Commission on December 24, 2024 to investigate the BDR mutiny and identify the local and foreign conspiracy behind the carnage.
The government on February 23, just two days before the BDR mutiny day, also declared February 25 鈥楯atiya Shaheed Sena Dibash鈥�.
To mark the mutiny day, victim families will offer prayers at the Military Graveyard at Banani at 9:00am today, Retired Armed Forces Officers鈥� Welfare Association, Bangladesh will organise a photo exhibition on the mutiny at 11:00am.
A prayer session will also be organised at Mirpur DOHS central mosque after maghrib prayers.
Tasnuva Maha, wife of slain major Tanvir Haider Noor, talking to 抖阴精品 on Monday, alleged that many high officials, who were then in command responsibility, were responsible for the incident and they were promoted even to general rank during the Awami League regime.
鈥楴ow, we fear whether we would get justice,鈥� she said.
鈥榃e hope that the newly formed commission will investigate and find out the plots and plotters of the killings,鈥� she said.
Tansuva claimed that most of the then BDR members were involved in the killings of the officers, burying them in mass graves and setting fire to their bodies.
Sacked BDR members and a group of leaders of the Students Against Discrimination, on the other hand, have been demanding justice over the BDR mutiny, the release of BDR members now in jail, and the reinstatement of their jobs or proper compensation for them. 聽
Several cases were lodged over the mutiny after the incident.
The murder case is now pending before the Appellate Division, the case under the Explosive Substance Act is now pending before a special tribunal in Dhaka and the other cases were lodged under the Bangladesh Rifles Order, 1972.
A good number of BDR members were punished after summary trial in the cases under the order.
Slain Colonel Quadrat Elahi Rahman Shafique鈥簊 son Saquib Rahman said that they had no objection about allowing bail for BDR members acquitted in the murder case and still in jail for 16 years in the case filed under the Explosive Substance Act as it was a judicial matter.
Referring to the summary trial, Saquib said that the maximum punishment for an offender in the trial was seven years鈥� imprisonment and most of them were now released from jails and protesting demanding reinstatement of jobs.
鈥楾he death row convicts and life term recipients in the murder case should not be released without following the law appropriately amid street protests as all BDR members were not innocent,鈥� he said.
He said that Sheikh Hasina and a neighbouring country might have involvement in the carnage but it was committed by Bangladeshi people.
On December 19, 2024, the families of 22 slain army officers filed a complaint with the International Crimes Tribunal chief prosecutor accusing deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, her defence adviser Tarique Ahmed Siddique, former army chief Moeen U Ahmed and 55 others of crimes against humanity and genocide for their suspected involvement in the mutiny.
The National Independent Investigation Commission on February 20 said that the commission had recorded statements of 37 people, mostly former army officers, in its 41 working days.
The commission president Major General (retired) ALM Fazlur Rahman said that the statements of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and former Army chief Moeen U Ahmed were also required in the investigation to know their roles as they were the head of the government and the then Army chief respectively.
鈥榃e have to record the statement of Moeen U Ahmed to know the reason for his failure to conduct Army operations during the carnage,鈥� he said.
Slain colonel Quadrat Elahi Rahman鈥簊 son Saquib said that the ICT investigation would reveal the role of the Awami League leaders in the carnage.
Neither the home adviser, Lieutenant General (retired) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, nor the home affairs ministry鈥檚 senior secretary, Nasimul Gani, could be reached over the phone for comments despite several attempts.
On January 10, the hearing in the case under the Explosive Substances Act was deferred till January 19 as the makeshift courtroom at Government Alia Madrassah was set on fire on January 9, escalating tensions over the trial.
178 ex-BDR members were released from different jails on bail in the case on January 23, four days after the Dhaka Metropolitan Special Tribunal had granted their petition seeking bail in the case under the Explosive Substances Act.
The tribunal, amid street protests by the families of ex-BDR members and students, allowed their petition.
On February 12, sacked BDR members blocked a road near the secretariat in Dhaka, demanding the release of imprisoned BDR members and reinstatement of their jobs and the police used force to disperse them by spraying water.
Student Against Discrimination executive committee member Md Mahin Sarkar and the representatives of the protesters held a meeting with home ministry officials on the day and announced to suspend their programme on assurance from the government to sit with them to discuss their demands.
Their demands include immediate release of all detained BDR members who were acquitted in the murder case and those who completed serving jail terms, the withdrawal of the 鈥榤otivated and farcical鈥� cases filed under the Explosive Substances Act, the reinstatement of sacked BDR members鈥� jobs, adequate compensation for all, justice over the killings of 74 people, including 57 army officials and 10 BDR members, and reinstate the Border Guard Bangladesh鈥檚 old name, BDR, as BDR was connected to the country鈥檚 independence and sovereignty.
The trial in the case under the Explosive Substances Act remained stalled since the disposal of the murder case in 2013.
On November 5, 2013, the trial court sentenced 568 soldiers in the murder case. Of them, 152 were awarded death penalty, 162 were handed life imprisonment, and 256 were sentenced to varying jail terms.
Of the total 850 accused in the murder case, 278, mostly former BDR personnel, were acquitted.
In a two-day judgment delivered in November 26鈥�27, 2017, the High Court upheld the death sentences of 139 soldiers and handed life imprisonment to 185 others. The HC upheld varying jail terms for 200 convicts and acquitted 45 accused of all charges.