Arms, ammo still all around Pilkhana
6 BDR men offer confessional statements
Staff Correspondent:The daily Star: Thursday, 26th March, 2009
Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) headquarters at Pilkhana is still an unsafe zone as grenades and other explosives remained scattered here and there even after a month of the mutiny by border guards.
"Arms, ammunition and other explosives, including grenades, are still being recovered everyday as BDR members hid those at various places, even in socks and dresses," BDR Director General (DG) Brig Gen Md Mainul Islam told reporters yesterday.
Addressing a press briefing at the conference hall of BDR headquarters, the DG said it is quite impossible to say exactly how many explosives and ammunition were used during the mutiny and how many arms and explosives taken away by the mutineers. At the end of the counting, it would be possible to assess how many arms went missing, he said.
Meanwhile, six BDR mutiny suspects yesterday gave confessional statements before the court about their involvement in the carnage for the first time after the incident.
They are Subedar Haji Shafijuddin, Habilder Billal Hossain, Nayek Matiur Rahman, Lance Nayek Gausul Azam, Subedar Gofran Mallik and carpenter Nayan Kumer.Court sources said metropolitan magistrates AEM Ismail Hossain and Moazzem Hossain recorded their confessional statements under the section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
CID senior assistant superintendent of police (ASP) Abdul Kahar Akond, who is leading the 250-member team engaged in the investigation, told The Daily Star that all the six persons confessed their involvement in the mutiny and disclosed information what they know.He, however, declined to elaborate their confessions.
But another CID official who is also a team member said the six persons narrated the carnage incident and disclosed many names of the mutineers.
Talking to reporters at the press briefing, BDR Director General (DG) Brig Gen Md Mainul Islam, however, could not confirm how many more days would take to complete the assessment procedure though one month has elapsed after the mutiny.
"Everyday we are recovering arms and explosives from different places. This is why it is still not a safe place", he said.
The DG said, "We first kept the BDR members under tent in the field for their safety. But now they are staying at better places."
Brig Gen Mainul said although mutineers did not take away all explosives and grenades, they broke all the boxes containing ammunition and explosives, including grenades.
Regarding the scheduled DG level meeting between Bangladesh and India in New Delhi on March 30, he said formalities and agendas of the meeting have been curtailed due to the mutiny and only a courtesy meeting will be held. A small BDR team will join the meeting to convey thanks to the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) for playing a very responsible role during the mutiny, the DG said.
Talking about the replacement of BDR officials, Brig Gen Mainul said most of the officials have already joined their designated places amid lack of confidence and are carrying out their duties.
"I am not saying that the BDR officers are able to carry out their duties fully. But the flag meetings are being held and smugglers are being resisted," he said.
Replying to a question, the DG said, "It is not the time to comment whether the existing BDR members would be included in the new organisation of border guards. Opinions are now being collected from various quarters to take decision in this regard."
"BDR members themselves have to regain their confidence through their own activities, including by confessing their involvement in the crime and disclosing information about others who were involved in the massacre," the DG said.
"It is true that many BDR members helped in saving the lives of some army officials and their family members. After the enquiry, authorities will reward those who will be proved innocent and anti-mutineers," he said.
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