News Desk :
The 13th anniversary of the brutal carnage at the Pilkhana BDR (now BGB) headquarters in the capital observed on Friday.
A total of 74 people, including 57 Army officers, were killed in the massacre beginning on this day in 2009.
Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) organised Quran Khawani, doa, and milad mahfil, marking the day.
Major General S M Salahuddin Islam, Military Secretary to the President, and Major General Nakib Ahmed, Military Secretary to the Prime Minister, placed floral wreaths at the graves of the slain Army officers at the Military Graveyard in the capital’s Banani area on behalf of the President and the PM, respectively, the government said in a release.
Besides, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, chiefs of the three services-Chief of Army Staff General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral M Shaheen Iqbal and Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Shaikh Abdul Hannan, — and Director General of BGB Major General Md Shafeenul Islam also paid their tributes to the slain Army officers.
They also stood in solemn silence for a while.
During the day, family members and relatives of the slain officers also paid their tributes to the slain Army officers.
BGB flags were flown at half-mast at all Border Guards Bangladesh installations and all BGB members wore black badges to mark the day.
A special prayer and milad mahfil was held on Friday after Juma prayers at BGB Central Mosque, Dhaka Sector Mosque and Border Guard Hospital Mosque at Pilkhana to seek salvation of the departed souls. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan was present as the chief guest at the BGB Central Mosque.
On February 25, 2009, several hundred Bangladesh Rifles (now BGB) men staged an armed revolt at the Darbar Hall of the force’s Pilkhana headquarters during the three-day “BDR Week”. They killed 74 people, including 57 Army officers.
The mutiny finally ended the following day (Feb 26) with the surrender of firearms, ammunition and grenades through a negotiation between the then government and the BDR rebels.
A total of 58 cases, including one for murder and looting, and the remaining for mutiny were filed in connection with the mutiny.
Some 152 people were sentenced to death and 423 others to different jail terms in the killing case. Besides, 277 were acquitted in the country’s largest-ever killing case.
Among the convicts, 262 mutineers were sentenced to different jail terms ranging from three months to 19 years, and 161 people, including late BNP leader Nasiruddin Ahmed Pintu and local Awami League leader Torab Ali, were jailed for life.
On the other hand, 5,926 BDR personnel were sentenced to different jail terms ranging from four months to seven years in the 57 mutiny cases.
