Tributes being paid to victims of BDR carnage
Today (Feb 25) is the 8th anniversary of the atrocious carnage at Pilkhana the then headquarters of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) in Dhaka that left 74 people, including 57 army officers, killed in 2009.
READ more: Remembering the Pilkhana victims
To mark the day, special prayers were offered at the mosque of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) at Pilkhana after Fazr prayers, seeking divine blessings for the departed souls of these victims.
Also READ: Timeline - Mutiny starts at Darbar
Besides, wreaths placed at the graves of the army officers, who were killed during the BDR outrage, at Banani Graveyard at 9:10am on behalf of President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said Public Relations officer of the BGB Headquarters Mohsin Reza.
Later, the home minister, the chiefs of the three services, the home secretary and the BGB DG paid tributes to the slain army officers.
On February 25, 2009, hundreds of BDR (now BGB) men rose up in armed revolt at Darbar Hall during the three-day 'BDR Week' inside the Pilkhana headquarters and the killed 74 people, including 57 deputed army officers.
The mutiny finally ended the next day (Feb 26) with the surrender of the firearms and grenades through negotiations between the government and the BDR rebels.
After the mutiny, the BDR was renamed Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and 58 cases were filed-- one for serious crimes, including murder and looting, and the rest for mutiny.
Some 152 people were sentenced to death and 423 others to different jail terms and 277 acquitted in the country's largest-ever killing case.
Also READ: 152 to hang for BDR carnage
Among the convicts, 161 people, including late BNP leader Nasiruddin Ahmed Pintu and local Awami League leader Torab Ali, were sentenced to life term imprisonment while 262 others to different jail terms starting from three months to 19 years.
Besides, a total of 5,926 BDR personnel were sentenced to different jail terms ranging from four months to seven years in the 57 mutiny cases.