Reinstate 1,447 Ansar personnel acquitted of 1994 mutiny charges, High Court orders govt

Almost 1,500 members of the Ansar force, who have been acquitted of mutiny charges, will get back their jobs, according to a High Court order.

In 1994, a mutiny over low pay and several other demands broke out among members of Ansar, an auxiliary force for law-enforcement.

The army along with the then Bangladesh Rifles or BDR had to be called in to tackle the situation, when several Ansar members fled.

Following the mutiny, the home ministry reinstated some of the 2,696 members of the force. A total of 2,496 Ansar members were sacked and prosecuted for criminal charges.

A petition to the president by those who had been acquitted failed to evoke any response then.

Monday's order by Justice Sheikh Hassan Arif and Justice Md Badruzzaman of the High Court came after disposing of two previous rules issued on the matter.

The court said those who have not reached their retirement age and are physically able must be reinstated while others will be entitled to pensions.

In a previous order on Apr 13, the same High Court bench ruled in favour of 289 Ansar personnel.

Following that order, 1,447 sacked Ansar members, who were acquitted of mutiny charges, filed two writ petitions with the court.

After hearing the petitions, the High Court issued a rule on Apr 25 asking why their removal will not be declared illegal, which was disposed of on Monday.

Those who will be reinstated will get paid after joining work and those who have reached the retirement age will get pensions, said Syed Md Jahangir Hossain, one of the counsels representing the Ansar members.