Dhaka, Jan 23 (bdnews24.com) — Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) has officially been named Border Guard of Bangladesh (BGB).
The renaming, though came into effect after the president signed the bill passed through parliament over a month ago, came on Sunday after prime minister Sheikh Hasina hoisted the BGB flag at its Peelkhana headquarters.
The flag has also been changed a little bit.
Bangladesh's 'first line of defence' went through a few changes, including its name and uniform, with a new law stipulating death for mutiny, apparently to absolve it of the bloody mutiny of Feb 25-26, 2009.
Parliament passed the bill, which was subsequently endorsed by the president on Dec 20 last year, bringing the changes in BDR to rid it of the stigma that would invariably be attached to its name.
But Maj Gen Mohammad Rafiqul Islam at a function on Jan 1 used his old designation as head of BDR since, according to him, 'formalities' to call him the BGB director general 'still remain incomplete'.
But he said since parliament had passed a bill and the president signed it into law, he could well be referred to as the director general of Border Guards of Bangladesh.
The 'Border Guard Bangladesh Bill -2010' was passed in parliament on Dec 8 last year, making the change in the name following the two-day Peelkhana mutiny which killed 73 people, including 57 army officer deputed to the border force.
DEATH PENALTY
The law has further toughened penalties for crimes committed by border guards, including a provision of death penalty for mutiny, or disobedience in the field by border guards.
The existing maximum penalty under the BDR law is seven years in jail.
Several BDR courts outside Dhaka have handed down verdicts for expressing solidarity with the Peelkhana mutineers.
Meanwhile, the trial of Peelkhana mutineers has recently begun.
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