Mainly the pent-up grievances among the BDR rank and file over many issues, including Operation Dal Bhat, inside the BDR led to the Pilkhana carnage, according to sources.
The carnage at BDR headquarters on February 25-26 left 74 people dead including 57 army officers.
Sources involved in the army investigation said there were no conclusive findings of external parties plotting the carnage. Analysing the incident it was perceived that some external parties might have used the soldiers' grievances to serve their own interest.
The 20-member army probe committee headed by Lt Gen Jahangir Alam Chowdhury submitted the report to army chief General Moeen U Ahmed Monday.
The reports suggested that a more powerful probe body be formed to investigate the incident and the culprits be tried under army rules.
It said only 30-35 BDR jawans and clerks started the killings. Sources said since the probe was only a departmental investigation, its terms of reference were not like those of other probe bodies'.
Due to this, the committee was unable to collect information and follow clues that might reveal involvement of civilians and political leaders in the carnage or verify information.
Sources said the committee could not record statements of civilians particularly politicians even though some names had come up during investigation. It refrained from looking for details about some unanswered issues though it had some information and clues in this regard.
The committee, however, gave its views and ideas on these unsolved issues in brief.
Giving an example the sources said the probe body mentioned that a section of politicians and civilians might have used the BDR jawans, who met them to discuss their demands, as means to take revenge on the army. They seemingly had a grudge on the army for assisting the caretaker government regime.
The committee suggested that a more powerful enquiry committee be constituted to collect information in this regard.
The sources also said the rebel BDR jawans met civilians and political leaders before and after the last national elections to discuss their demands. This was in violation of the provisions and rules and regulations of a disciplined force.
Sources said the probe body did not find any militant links to the carnage.
They said while quizzing mutineers it did not seem to the investigators that jawans of any particular district, medium of education or who believe in a certain ideology played any significant role in the mutiny.
The body, however, said most of the planners and killers were sepoys and clerks of comparatively younger.
The probe committee believes several reasons were behind the BDR jawans' grievances that eventually led to the mutiny.
BDR's "Operation Dal Bhath" was identified as the most important cause of the mutiny. Besides, misconception about facilities of army officers, discontent over running BDR fair price outlets, delays in getting payments of dearness allowances for duty during the national elections and control of tenders inside BDR headquarters in Pilkhana were mentioned.
The committee also said the rebels provoked other BDR jawans saying BDR chief Shakil Ahmed, his wife Naznin Shakil and Dhaka Sector Commander Col Mujibul Haque were involved in tender manipulation and irregularities in the admission of children to schools and the governance of the English medium school in Pilkhana.
The probe body also felt that BDR jawans showed the audacity to stage mutiny since the authorities concerned did not take punitive actions against those who staged mutiny in 1991 in accordance with the merit of their offences.
Moreover, home and finance ministries' dilly-dallying in resolving BDR's problems and army officers preventing unethical activities of BDR jawans were mentioned as causes behind the mutiny.
The committee also said that non-commissioned BDR officers created unrest among jawans by badmouthing army officers. Administrative difficulties were also created by unwanted interference of family members, friends and relatives of some senior army officers. These also upset BDR jawans.
Sources said the probe underlined four issues as failures of authorities concerned.
It said BDR and intelligence agencies failed to inform the authorities concerned even though the BDR jawans had met political leaders and civilians on several occasions to discuss their demands. It said most of the members of Rifles Security Unit (RSU) were involved in the mutiny and no information about the situation prior to the mutiny was found at the unit.
The sources said investigators believe it was a failure of all intelligence agencies since the prime minister visited Pilkhana in February and the plan for the mutiny was made before she went there.
The sources said the probe body also underlined indifference of BDR authorities as a failure. It said the authorities concerned were aware of the BDR grievances but chose to conceal the information fearing that once out in the open it would result in the cancellation of the prime minister's visit.
The report suggested that trials of BDR jawans be held under army rules.
According to the sources, Awami League ward-level leader Torab Ali, his son criminal Leather Liton and former BDR member Kanchan's son Zakir instigated the BDR jawans to the mutiny. It also said Liton may have provoked the jawans for his attempt to acquire BDR arms. It said checking phone records of Torab Ali, it is found that he made calls abroad many times during the mutiny.
The sources said political leaders were aware of the BDR grievances before hand but the committee could not find out whether they informed BDR authorities of the matter.
About army deployment, the report said the army could not be deployed timely as it was not possible to conduct recon missions in the area due to time constraints and also because necessary military hardware were not ready.
Besides, the 46 Brigade could not play its due role since negotiations were going on during the mutiny. The probe body also gave their observations about the role of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) in rescuing the hostage army officers.
About the killings and lootings, the probe body said a band of 30 to 35 started the killings in Darbar Hall, DG Bhaban and different other places in Pilkhana.
The committee did not get the identity of the main planner or planners. It suspects that most of the mutineers knew that officers would be held hostage but very few knew that they would be killed.
Meanwhile, as many as 331 more BDR jawans from BDR units in seven districts were arrested yesterday on sedition charges in connection with the Pilkhana carnage case.
Of them, 100 were rounded up in Chittagong, 49 in Khulna, 43 in Jessore, 42 in Kushtia, 12 in Chuadanga, 62 in Satkhira and 23 in Brahmanbaria, our correspondents reported.
After the arrestees were produced before courts in their respective districts, they were sent to jail yesterday.
A joint team of police and Rab arrested the suspected mutineers after the police filed sedition cases against them.
Earlier, over 450 BDR jawans were arrested, since May 10, on sedition charges from different sectors, battalion headquarters and camps across the country.