Published : 05 Nov 2024, 08:40 PM
Updated : 21 Aug 2026, 12:03 PM
The High Court has issued a rule asking why a commission should not be formed to conduct a fresh investigation into the BDR mutiny and massacre at Dhaka’s Pilkhana 15 years ago.
It also ordered the petition from the Ministry of Home Affairs on the matter to be settled.
The bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Debasish Roy Chowdhury made the decision on Tuesday.
Advocate Tanvir Ahmed represented the petitioners in court.
“The court issued a rule asking why the incident should not be re-investigated and ordered the representation from the Home Ministry to be settled within 10 days.”
Two lawyers, including Tanvir, filed the writ petition on Oct 20. It named the secretary of home affairs, the cabinet secretary the law, justice, and parliamentary affairs secretary, the police IGP and the RAB director general as defendants.
Before filing the petition, they had made an application to the Ministry of Home Affairs seeking a new investigation of the incident. The court petition was filed when they received no response.
The BDR mutiny on Feb 25-26, 2009, at the headquarters of the border security force resulted in the deaths of 74 people, including 57 army officers. The incident sent shockwaves across the nation and drew international attention.
After the mutiny, the force was renamed from BDR to Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), and changes were made to their uniforms.
While the mutiny was tried in the BGB court, the murder case was brought to a civilian court. Two cases emerged from the incident: one for murder and another under the explosives law.
Due to the explosives case, 468 BDR members who had been acquitted or completed their sentences in the murder case remain in custody.
The murder case trial of 850 defendants ended on Nov 5, 2013, with 152 sentenced to death, 160 receiving life imprisonment, and 256 handed various prison terms. A total of 278 were acquitted.
On Nov 27, 2017, the High Court upheld the death sentences for 139 people, imposed life sentences on 185, and issued varying prison terms to 228. The court acquitted 283 others.
Before the High Court ruling, 54 defendants, including 15, had passed away. Appeals and leave-to-appeal petitions against the High Court’s judgment have been filed by 226 defendants, while the state has appealed against the acquittals and reduced sentences of 83 people. These appeals are still pending.
The trial of 834 defendants in the explosives case began in 2010 but stalled midway as the state prioritised presenting evidence in the murder case.
Since the interim government took the reigns, there have been renewed calls for a re-investigation into the BDR mutiny. Home Advisor Jahangir Alam Chowdhury has said that the re-investigation into the murders during the mutiny will begin soon.
