Mutiny charges read out to 9
On the second day of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) mutiny trial, the prosecution yesterday produced all nine accused soldiers of the 12th Rifles Battalion of Rangamati sector before the three-member special court headed by the BDR director general.
The proceedings began at 9:30am in a makeshift courtroom in the mechanical transport shed of the Rangamati sector headquarters of the paramilitary force.
Former commander of the 12th battalion, Lt Col Md Habibul Karim, on behalf of the prosecution, read out the complaints against the nine alleged mutineers who were standing in the dock.
Karim's submission of the allegations against the nine was almost the same as Tuesday's submission by Deputy Assistant Director Reaz Uddin Ahmed of the battalion, who had placed the charges against the nine, on the first day of the trial.
Lt Col Karim told the court that the accused nine supported the mutiny at the force's Pilkhana headquarters in the capital, aided each other to get ready for a revolt in their battalion, misbehaved with officers and their families, cut telephone lines, and kept arms and ammunition with themselves without permission. The court considered the allegations as punishable offences.
Karim also argued that the accused, as members of a disciplined force, violated rules and tarnished the image of the country in the eyes of the international community.
He also told the court of BDR Director General Maj Gen Mainul Islam, Lt Col Md Abdur Rouf, and Maj Golam Mostafa Al-Mamun, that he has all information, evidence, and documents implicating the accused in the case.
The nine alleged mutineers are havilders Sibbir Ahmed, Sohrab Hossain and Md Shamsul Haque, sepoys Md Abul Kalam Azad, Md Sakhawat Hossain, Md Rasel Kabir, Md Zahir Uddin and Md Sarwar Kamal, and Signalman Abdur Rahman.
The prosecution appealed the court to frame charge sheets against the accused as early as possible, urging for the maximum punishment.
The court accepted the complaints and gave the accused 27 days to prepare their defence on consultation with their lawyers.
Yesterday's proceedings went on for half an hour before being adjourned till December 27. Security was beefed up inside and around the court during the proceedings.
After the completion of the day's proceedings, Lt Col Karim told journalists that he hopes the court will frame charges on December 27 against the nine.
Deputy Attorney General Shoharawardi aided the court as a representative of the Attorney General's Office, while Mossarraf Hossain Kajal and Monzurul Alam Monzu were present as senior public prosecutors on behalf of the state.
The trial is being held under the Bangladesh Rifles Order 1972. The accused, if convicted, will get a maximum of seven years of imprisonment, and fines of Tk 100 each, said the BDR director general.
The mutiny that had started at the Pilkhana headquarters of BDR on February 25, also spread to other battalions and garrisons of the force.
The mutiny in Rangamati took place in three of the sector's five battalions. The three battalions are the 12th at Rajanagar of Longudu, the 9th at Marishya of Baghaichhari, and the 18th at Chhotohorina of Barkal upazilas. Around 39 alleged mutineers from the three battalions are now in Rangamati jail, nine of whom are from the 12th battalion.
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