Bangladesh:Gunfight at BDR headquarters

[linkinpark]

I mostly suspect RAW in this matter!!

Really? And what is the basis or evidence that you have based n which you are making such aspersions on India?.

 

[leonblack08]

How do they get the 'daring' from outside?



Dont harp on it being very evident, whats the evidence? Brilliant army officers or not, its been widely reported of the discontent among BDR to BA for illtreatment.

Please don't say something when you are not aware of it.

They were indeed among the best officers.The BDR week was going on and many were present there to receive their awards from the Prime minister.This BDR week happens annualy,if I am not wrong,and it brings a festive mood everywhere.I was there in Dhanmondi just the day before and found BDR men with their special uniform with "Paghri" assisting the traffic police.I thank Allah that I didn't have any work there on Wednesday,otherwise I would have been near the HQ.

Ill treatment is also a part of your training,especially when you are a non-commissioned soldier.It is present even in your army,believe it or not.It toughens the soldier.Even if there was some ill treatement,does this mean all of them ill treated?NO,NEVER.
I will tell you a true story.My sister's friend's uncle was one of the deads.He was a Colonel.In spite of being a high ranking officer,he used to bring his driver(who are jawans) and make him sit beside him while eating at any wedding ceremony or other ceremonies.Then why was this man killed?
The sad part is,his daughter is giving SSC exam and tomorrow is his Janaza.

Even the doctors were not spared?What ill treatment they did?Nothing,because they were given good medication always.

Looking at their 50 or odd demands,don't you think those are by some illiterate idiots,I should say this because unlike Army personnel,who needs to pass class 12 and then go for further study ,these BDR jawans need to pass only class 8.This shows their level of thinking and how vulnerable they are to ill preaching by some "External Force".

 

[leonblack08]

This act weakens Bangladesh and that would in turn make it difficult for them to tackle the extremists. So why would India want to make it easy for the extremists ???

A weak Bangladesh will be easier to Bully for India,regarding matters like maritime boundary,water sharing and other disputes.

For Jihadi Idiots,a weak Bangladesh means they can turn Bangladesh to Afganisthan.

For Burma,it is same like India.

I don't know where Pakistan fits into this,but some "non-state" factors who are also troubling Govt. of Pakistan may aid their Bangladeshi Jihadi counterparts.

 

[Contrarian]

Thats a total B.S. where'd you find that??

You half that brain of yours and read the article posted in this thread itself, which amazingly has also been quoted by me in the post above the one you are quoting.

 

[Bull]

A weak Bangladesh will be easier to Bully for India,regarding matters like maritime boundary,water sharing and other disputes.

Bully Bangladesh, why would we want to do that when we can do that smoothly under shk hasina. Now dont say that im admitting Shk Hasina is our agent, Im just using your one accusations to fight another.

For Jihadi Idiots,a weak Bangladesh means they can turn Bangladesh to Afganisthan.

And India would be very glad.

I don't know where Pakistan fits into this,but some "non-state" factors who are also troubling Govt. of Pakistan may aid their Bangladeshi Jihadi counterparts.

Who said Pakistan?

 

[z9-ec]

You half that brain of yours and read the article posted in this thread itself, which amazingly has also been quoted by me in the post above the one you are quoting.

From my standpoint, the BD military was in process of modernization of its forces including the BDR, Army, Navy and Air Force. This incident may halt the progress made, the modernization may face intense scrutiny and delays. The only beneficiary coming out of this is India.

 

[leonblack08]

Bully Bangladesh, why would we want to do that when we can do that smoothly under shk hasina. Now dont say that im admitting Shk Hasina is our agent, Im just using your one accusations to fight another.



And India would be very glad.



Who said Pakistan?

I never said Hasina was Indian agent.This time around she has become more cautious in her approach so far,unlike last time,being pro-India cost her Prime minister's seat,I guessed She learnt something.That's why she was talking of strengthening Army.

You did not say anything about Pakistan but I gave examples of the beneficiaries from weak Bangladesh.Anyone can differ with me but its my personal view.

 

[leonblack08]

From my standpoint, the BD military was in process of modernization of its forces including the BDR, Army, Navy and Air Force. This incident may halt the progress made, the modernization may face intense scrutiny and delays. The only beneficiary coming out of this is India.

Exactly,you got the point,a plan was laid for modernisation.It was not a rumour but a plan from ministry.Now this attack will definitely hold it back.

 

[linkinpark]

Back to 1971 war: Hand of Pak friends seen in mutiny
- Carnage planned, millions pumped in: Dhaka
OUR BUREAU

Relatives of a BDR soldier in front of the force’s headquarters in Dhaka. (Reuters)
Calcutta, Feb. 27: The root of what is turning out to be the world’s worst mutiny in recent times could go all the way back to an event Bengal and the rest of India cannot forget: the Liberation War of 1971.

The Bangladesh Rifles mutiny, in which scores of army officers and several others have been killed, could have been engineered to thwart a determined effort by the Shiekh Hasina government to punish the pro-Pakistan collaborators of 1971 who are still friends with Islamabad, sources told The Telegraph.

The Bangladesh government today said the mutiny was “pre-planned” and that “millions of takas” had been spent on its execution. No suspect was officially named — that task has been left to a six-member committee which will probe the carnage.

But government sources said they saw an “ISI hand” in the mutiny. “The issues involved — pay and perks parity — were not so grave that it could have led to a spontaneous revolt of such magnitude that it warranted the killing of so many army officers,” an official said.

The sources said the real cause of the revolt could be linked to the drive to punish the “war criminals” — one of the most important promises made in the Awami League’s election manifesto.

After coming to power two months ago on a landslide, Hasina’s Awami League moved a resolution in parliament that all “war criminals” would be tried and punished.

The sources said many of the “war criminals” were now leaders of the hardline Jamaat-e-Islami and were known for their close ties with Pakistan. “This resolution by the Awami League and its resolve to push ahead with the election promise obviously upset the Jamaat leaders who realised that sooner rather than later the government would zero in on them,” an official said.

The extent to which the Jamaat leaders were upset can be gauged from the fact that recently Pakistan sent Zia Ispahani, a special envoy, to Dhaka to discuss the issue with Bangladesh’s foreign minister.

After the meeting, the special envoy had told reporters that this was not the right time to punish the war criminals. “Pakistan wants to help Bangladesh now, so they should not go ahead with their resolution,” Ispahani had said.

If the suspicion of the Bangladesh officials turn out to be true, it will mark a disturbing turnaround for the BDR which, in its earlier avatar as the East Pakistan Rifles, had taken up arms against the Pakistan Army in 1971. Since then, barring some skirmishes, the border force has been largely accommodative of India’s concerns.

However, over the years, the lower ranks of the force could have been infiltrated by hardline elements, the sources said.

Hasina today said the violence was a “plot by a section of conspirators” to destabilise her government and refused to grant amnesty to those who indulged in killings.

She told reporters after a visit to Dhaka’s Mirpur Cantonment to console the families of the dead commanders: “It seems a certain group staged the incident. It must also be inquired if any quarter provoked this incident. We must see whether there was any plan to use this incident for a different purpose.”

Jahangir Kabir Nanak, the minister for local government and the key negotiator with the rebels, said “millions of takas” were distributed to make the plot a success.

He also wondered who was behind the group of people seen egging on the mutineers by standing outside the complex and shouting slogans such as “BDR, you go ahead, we are with you”.

Looks like there is a hand of Razakars.

 

[BanglaBhoot]

Inside the bloody HQ at heart of Bangladesh mutiny

One by one the soldiers pulled out the officers’ corpses, gagging through their face masks at the stench from the mass grave that they unearthed yesterday after a two-day mutiny by Bangladeshi border guards.

As clouds of flies swarmed, they draped the corpses in black canvas sheets and added them to the rapidly mounting tally — now at least 43 — of officers killed inside the headquarters of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR).

When soldiers and sniffer dogs began searching yesterday morning only two officers were confirmed dead in the mutiny that started when BDR guards fired on their officers and took over a shopping mall on Wednesday to protest over pay and working conditions. The Government said that it had crushed the revolt in Dhaka and the 15 border districts where guards also rebelled, easing fears over political violence in this unstable country.

A hint of the horror to come emerged when the Army said that it had accounted for only 31 of the 168 officers who had been in the BDR compound when the uprising started. Then a Red Crescent officer noticed the freshly dug patch of earth behind the compound’s hospital.

By the end of the day they had found the corpses of at least 43 officers, including Major General Shakil Ahmed, the commander of the BDR.

“We found two last night and 41 today,” Major Sheikh Mohammed Shahjallah, director of operations for fire services and civil defence, told The Times. “We believe there are more dead bodies to be found.”

He said that two of the bodies were inside manholes and 38 were in the mass grave, without specifying where the remaining one was. The Times saw 19 corpses laid by the mass grave — about 10ft long and 5ft wide — and soldiers working there said that 19 others had already been taken away.

An officer said that the dead were mostly colonels, majors and captains. Police said that at least four civilians were also killed by stray bullets and estimates of the final overall death toll are as high as 70.

The Army showed reporters the conference hall, where the mutiny began as General Ahmed addressed an annual meeting of the BDR. The glass doors were smashed, its walls were covered in bullet holes and the floor was strewn with overturned chairs and specks of blood.

A source close to the Army said that the uprising started after a BDR guard tried to question General Ahmed but was ordered to be quiet. When he refused to comply three times an officer shot him dead. Colonel Kamruz Zaman, said, however: “This is a lie. This is made up by them. You see the dead bodies.”

Police said they had arrested 200 mutineers. The Government now seems to have restored order. The aftermath still represents a serious challenge for the Government, which took power in December after two years of army-backed rule. Sheikh Hasina Wajed, the Prime Minister, must tread a fine line between meeting the demands of the BDR and appeasing the Army and relatives of the victims.

“My family are hysterical,” said Mohammed Kabir Baqtiar, 50, who lost his brother, Colonel Chapal Zahid. “If they (BDR) had demands they should have asked the Prime Minister before, not killed the soldiers.”

Army chiefs are sure to demand severe penalties for the mutineers. That could put Mrs Wajed in an awkward position because she promised the mutiny leaders an amnesty and knows that millions of others have similar complaints about pay and conditions.

Opinion among civilians is divided but many have expressed sympathy with the rebels. “BDR are right,” said Humayun Kabir, 38, in Dhaka. “They are only asking for what they need and they have been treated unfairly by the Army for years.”

Inside the bloody HQ at heart of Bangladesh mutiny - Times Online

 

[BanglaBhoot]

'Guards came from nowhere and opened fire'

DHAKA, February 27 (AFP): Syed M. Kamruzzaman knows he had a lucky escape. He saw 11 men killed before his very own eyes when the border guards known as the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) launched an armed mutiny. The colonel, on temporary posting from the army to the BDR, could have been one of the victims. He was in a meeting at BDR headquarters in Dhaka when the mutineers stormed in.

"A group of guards barged into the hall where we were holding our meeting and hurled abuse at us, telling us they weren't treated properly. They demanded cheap rations, UN postings and better pay," he said. The guards, he said, were all armed -- some carrying submachine guns and others rifles. The head of the BDR, Major General Shakil Ahmed, was among those shot dead.

"None of us were armed. They told us to walk in single file, marched us outside and then four more guards came from nowhere and opened fire and Major General Shakil was gunned down," Kamruzzaman said. "Bullets sprayed from behind and I was hit in the stomach. I crawled to a bathroom and hid under a basin. They found me and shot me again but somehow I survived." "It was cold-blooded murder," he said. Other officers taken hostage have also revealed how they managed to escape death when the rogue BDR troops decided to mutiny.

Bangladesh regularly sends police and army personnel abroad on lucrative United Nations peacekeeping missions, but BDR troops work mainly domestically. Between 4,000 and 5,000 people, including families of soldiers and officers, are believed to live in the headquarters compound where the drama unfolded. Lieutenant colonel Shams told the English language newspaper New Age he hid under a cot when the armed guards began their siege. "They picked on my domestic servant, beating him up seriously," he said.

Many took cover in sewerage manholes for the entire 34 hours of the incident. "It was dark and smelly. I jumped into it and kept the lid shut but could hear the sound of gunshots. I stayed there without any food and light. I could not separate day from night," Major Munir told reporters. With a total force of nearly 70,000 troops, the BDR's primary task is to patrol and secure Bangladesh's 4,000-kilometre border with both India and Myanmar.

The average BDR trooper earns about 70 dollars a month -- the equivalent to a very low government clerk, and a salary that has long been a source of simmering discontent within the ranks. The revolt, which began at the headquarters early Wednesday, was reportedly triggered by the refusal of senior officers to consider appeals for more pay, subsidised food and holidays.
Most of the officers are seconded to the Rifles from the army for a tenure of two to four years, and the BDR troopers have complained that this makes them less than receptive to their particular grievances. Some have accused the officers of skimming off their salaries and appropriating food supplies meant for distribution to the poor. Some of the mutineers, who aired their grievances to television crews they invited into their headquarters, directly accused the BDR chief of making millions of dollars by stealing money from food funds.

'Guards came from nowhere and opened fire' - The Morung Express

 

[leonblack08]

Inside the bloody HQ at heart of Bangladesh mutiny


Opinion among civilians is divided but many have expressed sympathy with the rebels. “BDR are right,” said Humayun Kabir, 38, in Dhaka. “They are only asking for what they need and they have been treated unfairly by the Army for years.”

Inside the bloody HQ at heart of Bangladesh mutiny - Times Online

This is initial report,because I can see people lost their sympathy with the rebels as the atrocities they committed are unearthed.

 

[leonblack08]

New laws, if needed, to try BDR rebels, says LGRD minister
Star Online Report

The government is committed to ensure quick trial and exemplary punishment to those involved in the mutiny at the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) headquarters, LGRD Minister Syed Ashraful Islam said today.

“There will be quick trial and exemplary punishment…the government is committed to implement that,” Ashraful told a press briefing at the PID conference room.

He said each of the culprits would be traced and brought to justice.

He said the government, if necessary, would be enacted a new law to bring them into justice.

Referring to the general amnesty announced by the prime minister, he said, the amnesty was not meant for those who took part in the killing.

"The general amnesty is only applicable for those who were in stand by at the BDR headquarters on that day," he said while addressing a press briefing at PID auditorium this afternoon.

"If the trial of Bangabandhu and four national leaders killing cases were held in time and the offender were brought into justice, the Pilkhana tragedy was not take place", Ashraf added.

The LGRD minister also pointed out that, many documents were being destroyed, so the government could not make any list of the name who joined the parade on the very day just before the BDR mutiny, who are still on the run and how many army officials were killed in the revolt.

He also expressed his profound sympathy to the family members of the victims who were killed on Wednesday's BDR mutiny at its headquarters.

The Daily Star - Details News

 

[idune]

Bully Bangladesh, why would we want to do that when we can do that smoothly under shk hasina. Now dont say that im admitting Shk Hasina is our agent, Im just using your one accusations to fight another.

And India would be very glad.

Other than Indian newspaper claim show A single proof that Awami govt requested for Indian troops. Until then all you are babbling here are b** crap.

Good to see you are admitting Awami govt is Indian stooge.

 

[leonblack08]

Probe committee starts work
Star Online Report

The six-member probe committee led by Home Minister Sahara Khatun today started its work, two days after the mutiny at Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) headquarters ended.

The committee is expected to submit its report within seven days.

On the first day, the members of the committee have visited different spots of Pilkhana BDR headquarters including Darbar Hall, DG's residence and four mass graves.

Earlier, the probe committee convened its maiden meeting at the Bangladesh Secretariat.

During the visit, Shahara asked the law enforcement agencies to preserve all the evidences of the killing.

The government formed the committee yesterday to investigate the cause of the mutiny that took place on Wednesday at the border guards' headquarters, which left scores of army officers dead.

The Daily Star - Details News