Bench reformed to hear BDR carnage appeals
The newly appointed Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha today reconstituted the special High Court bench for hearing and disposal of the appeal in BDR carnage case.
The new junior member of the bench was Justice Nazrul Islam, who replaced Justice Mustafa Zaman. Two other judges – Justice Md Shawkat Hossain and Justice Md Abu Zafar Siddiqi – were unchanged.
The bench was scheduled to begin hearing appeals from today. The Supreme Court authorities have prepared 23 paper books of the case for hearing the death reference and appeals.
A total of 257 appeals have been moved with the high court against the lower court verdict.
A Dhaka court on November 5 last year awarded death for 150 soldiers of the erstwhile Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and two civilians, and sentenced 161 others to life imprisonment for their roles and involvement in the carnage.
It also handed down rigorous imprisonment, ranging from three to 10 years, to another 256 people, mostly BDR soldiers. A total of 846 people, 823 of them BDR members, stood the trial. The remaining 277 accused were acquitted.
Seventy-four people, including 57 army officials, were slain in the BDR mutiny on February 25-26 in 2009 at the Pilkhana headquarters in Dhaka. The paramilitary force was later renamed Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).
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