The interim government of Bangladesh has declared its intention to re-open the investigation and ensure a fair trial regarding the 2009 mutiny within the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR). This decision comes after a tumultuous period marked by the tragic deaths of 74 individuals, including 57 army officers.
Lt. Gen. (retd.) M Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, serving as the Advisor to the interim government for Home and Agriculture Affairs, voiced his commitment to achieving justice for the victims of this event. He stated that he feels a personal responsibility, both as a former military member and as a citizen, to see this through.
The mutiny, which unfolded over February 25th and 26th, 2009, was triggered by a refusal of army officers to comply with demands made by BDR jawans. This rebellion spread rapidly from its origin at the BDR’s Pilkhana headquarters in Dhaka, engulfing sector headquarters and regional units across the nation. During this violent upheaval, the paramilitary soldiers turned their weapons on their superiors, resulting in the deaths of 57 military officers, along with 17 others. The victims were subjected to brutal executions, often at close range, or were tortured and hidden in sewers or hastily dug graves. Their families, held captive and subjected to humiliation, were forced to endure the horrors of the mutiny.
The BDR, tainted by this tragic incident, was renamed the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) in 2012, undergoing a comprehensive transformation including new logos, uniforms, flags, and monograms. This rebranding was intended to disassociate the force from the rebellion’s negative legacy.
Calls for a fresh investigation have been steadily increasing, especially on social media. While a special three-judge High Court bench upheld death sentences for 139 BDR soldiers in 2017, the case remains under review by the Supreme Court’s Appellate Division. The lower court had issued death sentences for 152 BDR members and two civilians, with an additional 158 receiving life imprisonment. These individuals face charges ranging from orchestrating the mutiny to torturing and killing their superiors, plundering their possessions, and holding their families captive. The rebellion also claimed the lives of eight civilians, eight BDR soldiers opposing the uprising, and one army soldier.
Legal experts have categorized this case as Bangladesh’s most significant criminal trial, involving approximately 800 former paramilitary soldiers accused of the deaths of 74 individuals. The mutineers cited their perceived “deprivation” as the motivation for their rebellion, coinciding with the annual Darbar (a meeting of ordinary soldiers with higher ranks). The first casualty of this rebellion was the then BDR chief, Maj. Gen. Shakil Ahmed.
This mutiny occurred just weeks after the Awami League, led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, ascended to power in the December 2008 elections. In 2012, Bangladesh concluded another stage of the trial, with 11 paramilitary courts imposing jail sentences of up to seven years on 6,011 rebel soldiers from 57 units, utilizing the comparatively lenient BDR Act.
