Peelkhana murder: 161 get life, 277 acquitted

Former BNP MP Nasiruddin Ahmed Pintu and Awami League leader Torab Ali are among 161 people sentenced to life imprisonment in the 2009 Peelkhana BDR mutiny murder case.

Another 277 men have been cleared of all charges.

The court of Dhaka's Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Akhtaruzzaman began delivering the verdict at around 12:30pm on Tuesday.

Till 1:30pm, the court had handed down sentences to over 500 accused.

Over 200 of them have been given various prison terms between three and 10 years.

A total of 850 persons, including 23 civilians, have been accused in the murder case. The list includes former BNP MP Nasiruddin Ahmed Pintu.

Of them, 813 were brought from the Dhaka Central Jail.

Ten of 13 other accused, who were on bail, also showed up at the court.

A total of 74 people, including 57 army officers, were killed in the Feb 25-26 mutiny in 2009.

In this case, 20 accused have remained fugitive while four others died during the trial.

Both the name and uniform of the border watchdog was changed. It was renamed Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).