17 Years of BDR Mutiny: Murder Case Still Awaits Final Disposal

Seventeen years ago, on 25 February 2009, a brutal mutiny and massacre took place at the then Bangladesh Rifles (BDR, now Border Guard Bangladesh – BGB) headquarters in Pilkhana, Dhaka. In the horrific incident, 57 army officers, including then BDR Director General Major General Shakil Ahmed, were killed, along with 17 others, bringing the total death toll to 74. Family members of military personnel present at the headquarters also faced extreme violence.

Two separate cases were filed on 28 February 2009: one under the murder act and another under the explosives act.

850 people were accused in the murder case, which made it the largest case in Bangladesh’s judicial history in terms of the number of defendants.

The trial court delivered its verdict on 5 November 2013, sentencing 152 people to death, 160 to life imprisonment, 256 to various jail terms, acquitting 278, while four accused had died before the verdict.

In criminal cases involving death sentences, the High Court must confirm the verdict through what is known as a death reference case. After hearings on the death reference and appeals, a special three-judge High Court bench delivered its verdict on 26 and 27 November 2017. The full High Court judgment was published in January 2020. It upheld death sentences for 139 accused, sentenced 185 to life imprisonment, handed various terms to 228 others, and acquitted 283. A total of 61 accused have died so far (including 15 before the High Court verdict).

Court sources say 73 separate appeals and leave-to-appeal petitions have been filed on behalf of 226 accused against the High Court sentences. The prosecution has filed 20 leave-to-appeal petitions concerning 83 accused whose sentences were reduced or who were acquitted. These appeals are currently pending in the Appellate Division.

Defence lawyer Mohammad Aminul Islam (recently appointed Chief Prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal) told Prothom Alo that both sides have submitted synopses of their appeals. The case is ready for hearing and is already on the Appellate Division’s schedule. The matter appeared at number 669 on the cause list on Tuesday (24 February). The hearing will proceed in due course.

In the explosives act case, there are 1,344 witnesses. Testimony from 302 has been recorded so far. The trial is ongoing at a special court near Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj. There are 834 accused in this case, of whom 59 have died and 20 are absconding.

Nearly 300 individuals who were acquitted or given various sentences in the murder case have obtained bail in the explosives act case. The next hearing in this case is scheduled for Thursday.

Separately, the Pilkhana incident was also tried under the BDR’s own internal law through a summary trial. In that proceeding, 10,973 personnel received various sentences.