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BREAKING NEWS - BDR mutiny spreading in the entire country
BDR revolt spreads in the entire country
Mutinous troops of Bangladesh Riffles [BDR] killed Director General Major General Shakil Ahmed Chowdhury along with his family members. During the first hours of revolt at least 86 army officers, who were on deputation in BDR had been killed alongwith their family members. Mutinous troops threw deadbodies inside a swearage tank, which flows out at Buriganga River. The mutinous troops are demanding General Amnesty for the mutiny and murder.
The mutinous troops assassinated Major General Shakil Ahmed Chowdhury and other members of his family. An unconfirmed source said, General Shakils deadbody was first placed inside a vehicle and set on fire. Later the burnt body was removed and the mutinous troops might have burried secretly somewhere within the compound.
Another source said, the mutinous troops were chanting slogans against Bangladesh Army and were attacking each and every members of Bangladesh Army who were on deputation in Bangladesh Riffles. Many of the family members of these officers were also brutally tortured and killed. Even the mutinous troops did not spare the children from such atrocity.
Earlier, on Wednesday afternoon, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina offered a general amnesty to the mutineers who held more than 100 top officers hostage. Although the delegation of the mutinous troops promised to the Prime Minister and to the media that, they would immediately surrender arms and return to barrack as the PM has offered general amnesty, the situation never changed. The firing and audacious actions of the mutinous BDR men continued. As the situation remained almost unchanged even hours after the amnesty had been announced, Home Minister Sahara Khatun accompanied by Fazle Noor Taposh MP led a team of government negotiators to a meeting with representatives of the mutineers in Amabala Inn restaurant right next to the Rifles Square shopping mall [BDR Head Quarters] around 10:00pm. After the meeting, Taposh told reporters that the mutineers would surrender their arms, but it might take another hour or an hour and a half to initiate the process. Then the home minister and the rest of the government delegation entered the headquarters. While the government delegation was inside the headquarters, gunshots were still being fired, and the mutineers were threatening that they would not surrender, until the army is withdrawn, and if their demand was not met they would blow up the entire BDR headquarters.
Bodies of the two officers -- Col Mujibul Huq and Lt Col Enayetul Haq -- were recovered from a sewage system outside the BDR headquarters on Wednesday. On Thursday morning five more deadbodies of army officers were also recovered from the same sewarage line. It is believed that, mutinous BDR men might have thrown several deadbodies inside the sewarage lines.
Colonel Gulzar Uddin Ahmed, who had joined the BDR early this month following his illustrious stint as the additional director general of Rapid Action Battalion [RAB], frantically phoned his former colleagues for help from inside the headquarters. But at one point his cell phone went dead. It is believed that, Colonel Gulzar is also one of the victims of Wednesdays mutiny of the BDR troops.
Meanwhile, another source confirms that the mutinous anti-Army troops of Bangladesh Riffles were not only mercilessly killing the army officers and their family members, but some of the troops were seen stabbing the dead bodies with bayonets and chanting anti army slogans.
It is also learnt that around 4,000 soldiers took part in the mutiny while, the remaining 2,000 troops opposing the mutiny are also apprehended to have either been killed or wonded or made hostage by the revolting section of BDR. Bodies of the slains were dumped through the manholes of Pilkhana sewers.
Earlier, two deadbodies of army officer were recovered from the same place on Wednesady. One of the victims were Colonel Mujibul Huq. Meanwhile, according to a newspaper report, a SMS from Colonel Mujibul Huq's son, sent from the BDR compound at noon, Mujib's house was set on fire and he [son] could not come out fearing death by gunshots. No information about Mujib's son, daughter, and wife could be gathered after that. It is highly apprehended that mutinous troops might also have assassinated them.
The mutiny apparently had no specific leader, although the rebels named one Nayek Shahid as their leader in their television interviews. Sources said they were acting as sparse small groups. Following a circulation of leaflets by the rebels on Tuesday, tension prevailed in Pilkhana throughout the night between officers and sepoys.
The mutineers began by speaking out at the Darbar Hall against the BDR high-ups, accusing them of misappropriating 'profits' made from the Dal-Bhaat programme, where 12 BDR sector commanders, many battalion commanders, and headquarters officers had gathered.
However, the headquarters are seized by the mutineers in such a way that the rest of the world was not getting any clear information about what was going on inside.
Even the army and Rab personnel, who were deployed with firearms and cannons around the headquarters, also could not fathom the situation.
The news of the mutiny spread through mobile phone calls, apparently triggering unrest in other BDR stations in Chittagong, Rangpur, Jessore and Khulna. However, violence was averted in those stations.
The mutineers seized control and took positions at the five gates of Pilkhana, the Rifles Square market, and at other points inside the compound with machineguns, light machine guns, mortars, anti-tank rifles, armoured vehicles, and rocket launchers.
They were so violent that they fired machineguns at military helicopters around 12:30pm, when choppers were being sent there to quell the situation. As they missed the targets, the choppers retreated.
Hundreds of BDR soldiers wearing red bandanas or helmets and partly covering their faces, were seen staging armed processions in front of the gates since 10.30am. They chanted slogans saying, "We have been deprived for a long time, we have deep grievances."
According to the rebels, over 3,300 soldiers belonging to battalions 24, 36, 13, and 44 in Dhaka and 3,000 more coming from various battalions of the country, gathered in Pilkhana on the occasion of the BDR Week, and ended up participating in the mutiny that went almost unchallenged inside the compound.
There are 46 battalions in the country, each having 826 soldiers totalling to nearly 40,000 soldiers in the entire BDR. The number of officers in BDR is between 250 and 300, they added.
The mutiny caused countrywide tension as all feared a peaceful ending of the situation would be very hard to ensure. During the BNP rule between 1991 and 1996, the lower tier of BDR had staged mutinies in Dhaka, Chittagong, Feni, Jessore, Khulna and Naogaon, expressing similar grievances. Those mutinies did not witness bloodshed and the jawans were assured of measures addressing their issues which were ultimately shelved.
The mutinous BDR soldiers started turning in their arms, which is mostly a token surrender to police in presence of Home Minister Sahara Khatun around 2:30am after about two hours of negotiation with the minister. Soon after the surrender of arms began, heavy gunshots were heard from inside the BDR headquarters. Only sixty arms were surrendered out of thousands of arms already in action.
Following the day long atorcity inside the BDR Head Quarters by the mutinous BDR troops, tension prevails in the entire country. Many of the colleagues and family members of the army officers, who were inside the BDR Head Quarters are passing through extreme horror.
It is now a big question as to what will happen to the command of this para millitary force in the country, as one of the key demands of the mutnous troops is to withdraw members of armed forces from its command. Some of the mutinous troops were raising demand of placing civil bureacrats or police officers in command. There is no doubt that, with the till unresolved ongoing problem within BDR, countrys security remains at stake.
Weekly Blitz l Most Influential Newspaper in Bangladesh
BDR revolt spreads in the entire country
Mutinous troops of Bangladesh Riffles [BDR] killed Director General Major General Shakil Ahmed Chowdhury along with his family members. During the first hours of revolt at least 86 army officers, who were on deputation in BDR had been killed alongwith their family members. Mutinous troops threw deadbodies inside a swearage tank, which flows out at Buriganga River. The mutinous troops are demanding General Amnesty for the mutiny and murder.
The mutinous troops assassinated Major General Shakil Ahmed Chowdhury and other members of his family. An unconfirmed source said, General Shakils deadbody was first placed inside a vehicle and set on fire. Later the burnt body was removed and the mutinous troops might have burried secretly somewhere within the compound.
Another source said, the mutinous troops were chanting slogans against Bangladesh Army and were attacking each and every members of Bangladesh Army who were on deputation in Bangladesh Riffles. Many of the family members of these officers were also brutally tortured and killed. Even the mutinous troops did not spare the children from such atrocity.
Earlier, on Wednesday afternoon, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina offered a general amnesty to the mutineers who held more than 100 top officers hostage. Although the delegation of the mutinous troops promised to the Prime Minister and to the media that, they would immediately surrender arms and return to barrack as the PM has offered general amnesty, the situation never changed. The firing and audacious actions of the mutinous BDR men continued. As the situation remained almost unchanged even hours after the amnesty had been announced, Home Minister Sahara Khatun accompanied by Fazle Noor Taposh MP led a team of government negotiators to a meeting with representatives of the mutineers in Amabala Inn restaurant right next to the Rifles Square shopping mall [BDR Head Quarters] around 10:00pm. After the meeting, Taposh told reporters that the mutineers would surrender their arms, but it might take another hour or an hour and a half to initiate the process. Then the home minister and the rest of the government delegation entered the headquarters. While the government delegation was inside the headquarters, gunshots were still being fired, and the mutineers were threatening that they would not surrender, until the army is withdrawn, and if their demand was not met they would blow up the entire BDR headquarters.
Bodies of the two officers -- Col Mujibul Huq and Lt Col Enayetul Haq -- were recovered from a sewage system outside the BDR headquarters on Wednesday. On Thursday morning five more deadbodies of army officers were also recovered from the same sewarage line. It is believed that, mutinous BDR men might have thrown several deadbodies inside the sewarage lines.
Colonel Gulzar Uddin Ahmed, who had joined the BDR early this month following his illustrious stint as the additional director general of Rapid Action Battalion [RAB], frantically phoned his former colleagues for help from inside the headquarters. But at one point his cell phone went dead. It is believed that, Colonel Gulzar is also one of the victims of Wednesdays mutiny of the BDR troops.
Meanwhile, another source confirms that the mutinous anti-Army troops of Bangladesh Riffles were not only mercilessly killing the army officers and their family members, but some of the troops were seen stabbing the dead bodies with bayonets and chanting anti army slogans.
It is also learnt that around 4,000 soldiers took part in the mutiny while, the remaining 2,000 troops opposing the mutiny are also apprehended to have either been killed or wonded or made hostage by the revolting section of BDR. Bodies of the slains were dumped through the manholes of Pilkhana sewers.
Earlier, two deadbodies of army officer were recovered from the same place on Wednesady. One of the victims were Colonel Mujibul Huq. Meanwhile, according to a newspaper report, a SMS from Colonel Mujibul Huq's son, sent from the BDR compound at noon, Mujib's house was set on fire and he [son] could not come out fearing death by gunshots. No information about Mujib's son, daughter, and wife could be gathered after that. It is highly apprehended that mutinous troops might also have assassinated them.
The mutiny apparently had no specific leader, although the rebels named one Nayek Shahid as their leader in their television interviews. Sources said they were acting as sparse small groups. Following a circulation of leaflets by the rebels on Tuesday, tension prevailed in Pilkhana throughout the night between officers and sepoys.
The mutineers began by speaking out at the Darbar Hall against the BDR high-ups, accusing them of misappropriating 'profits' made from the Dal-Bhaat programme, where 12 BDR sector commanders, many battalion commanders, and headquarters officers had gathered.
However, the headquarters are seized by the mutineers in such a way that the rest of the world was not getting any clear information about what was going on inside.
Even the army and Rab personnel, who were deployed with firearms and cannons around the headquarters, also could not fathom the situation.
The news of the mutiny spread through mobile phone calls, apparently triggering unrest in other BDR stations in Chittagong, Rangpur, Jessore and Khulna. However, violence was averted in those stations.
The mutineers seized control and took positions at the five gates of Pilkhana, the Rifles Square market, and at other points inside the compound with machineguns, light machine guns, mortars, anti-tank rifles, armoured vehicles, and rocket launchers.
They were so violent that they fired machineguns at military helicopters around 12:30pm, when choppers were being sent there to quell the situation. As they missed the targets, the choppers retreated.
Hundreds of BDR soldiers wearing red bandanas or helmets and partly covering their faces, were seen staging armed processions in front of the gates since 10.30am. They chanted slogans saying, "We have been deprived for a long time, we have deep grievances."
According to the rebels, over 3,300 soldiers belonging to battalions 24, 36, 13, and 44 in Dhaka and 3,000 more coming from various battalions of the country, gathered in Pilkhana on the occasion of the BDR Week, and ended up participating in the mutiny that went almost unchallenged inside the compound.
There are 46 battalions in the country, each having 826 soldiers totalling to nearly 40,000 soldiers in the entire BDR. The number of officers in BDR is between 250 and 300, they added.
The mutiny caused countrywide tension as all feared a peaceful ending of the situation would be very hard to ensure. During the BNP rule between 1991 and 1996, the lower tier of BDR had staged mutinies in Dhaka, Chittagong, Feni, Jessore, Khulna and Naogaon, expressing similar grievances. Those mutinies did not witness bloodshed and the jawans were assured of measures addressing their issues which were ultimately shelved.
The mutinous BDR soldiers started turning in their arms, which is mostly a token surrender to police in presence of Home Minister Sahara Khatun around 2:30am after about two hours of negotiation with the minister. Soon after the surrender of arms began, heavy gunshots were heard from inside the BDR headquarters. Only sixty arms were surrendered out of thousands of arms already in action.
Following the day long atorcity inside the BDR Head Quarters by the mutinous BDR troops, tension prevails in the entire country. Many of the colleagues and family members of the army officers, who were inside the BDR Head Quarters are passing through extreme horror.
It is now a big question as to what will happen to the command of this para millitary force in the country, as one of the key demands of the mutnous troops is to withdraw members of armed forces from its command. Some of the mutinous troops were raising demand of placing civil bureacrats or police officers in command. There is no doubt that, with the till unresolved ongoing problem within BDR, countrys security remains at stake.
Weekly Blitz l Most Influential Newspaper in Bangladesh