Evidence proves plots behind BDR rebellion in B'desh: Anisur Rahman
Agencies
Tags : bdr headquarters, mokaid mohamad ali, anisur rahman, rawshan firoz
Posted: Wed Oct 27 2010, 17:48 hrs
Dhaka:
Bangladesh authorities on Wednesday claimed that they had more evidence to prove that there was a plot behind the last year's bloody mutiny at the BDR headquarters here that left 74 people dead, mostly army officers.
"We now have more evidence proving a plot behind the mutiny," prosecutor Major Mokaid Mohamad Ali told a press briefing as the paramilitary border force exposed 42 more suspected rebels to trial in western frontier district of Jessore on rebellion charges.
Citing an example he said a week ahead of the mutiny BDR soldier Mohammad Khairul Islam had suddenly asked his superior Major Rawshan Firoz of the paramilitary force's Record Wing "Sir, what is the punishment of mutiny in BDR?"
"In reply Firoz said the mutineers" would face "death penalty" when the soldier said "No, sir, under the BDR Act the highest punishment is seven years of imprisonment". This proves there was a plan behind the (February 25-26, 2009) rebellion," Ali said.
The prosecutor said this yesterday when a paramilitary court here indicted 337 suspected BDR mutineers for their alleged role rebellion that saw the killing 74 people including 57 military officers serving on deputation in the border force.
Officials said nearly 2,000 soldiers were so far faced with trial in Dhaka and different frontier districts and more others were likely to be charged to be tried in phases in the 11 paramilitary courts in frontier districts.
Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police in July this year formally charged 801 BDR soldiers and 23 civilians for the carnage as the massacre culprits to be exposed to the Speedy Trial Tribunal after months of investigations.
The suspects were charged with offences including attempt to murder, injuring the officers with dangerous weapons, holding officers and their families' hostage, looting the armoury, using firearms without authority and destroying evidence of murders by hiding bodies.
"The rebel soldiers mowed their officers down in cold blood, using some 2,500 weapons which they had looted from the BDR armoury," chief investigator of criminal investigation department (CID) Abdul Kahhar Akand said told newsmen after submitting the charge sheet.
But, former BDR chief Major General Mainul Islam, who took over the charge of the paramilitary force after the rebellion, earlier said their investigations did not suggest that the killings were "pre-planned" despite a plot behind the mutiny.
He added that during the BDR's own investigations it was found that the renegade soldiers were disorganised and when "the first gunfire was shot by a rebel soldier, another fellow renegade soldier cried out saying this was not supposed to be".
"Rather malicious rumours spread by a section of mutineers and some other over enthusiastic people caused the carnage, claiming lives of our 57 army officers,” said Islam, who now serves as the chief of general staff (CGS) of Bangladesh army as a lieutenant general.
Investigators earlier said that initially 40 to 50 BDR men started the mutiny while most of the paramilitary soldiers took up weapons "voluntarily or reluctantly" and carried out the killings, destructions and lootings.
A high-powered government investigation committee earlier had said the demands or grievances of the BDR soldiers, which were initially thought to have sparked the mutiny at the onset of the rebellion as claimed the masked soldiers before the media, were found to be unacceptable to the committee as reasons for staging the rebellion.
It said a certain quarter staged the mutiny using a sense of deprivation of the ordinary BDR soldiers but only a few BDR men knew about killing plot while several BDR soldiers who apparently opposed the massacre and several civilians and an army soldier were also killed during the mutiny beyond the 57 army officers.
The report, however, bluntly admitted the real causes and objectives of the gruesome incident could not be ascertained clearly and it requires further investigations".
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Evidence proves plots behind BDR rebellion in B'desh: Anisur Rahman