168 former BDR members are being released after 16 years after their bail granted in the case filed under the Explosives Act in the Pilkhana tragedy.
On Thursday (January 23), around 11 am, former BDR members were seen coming out of Kashimpur Jail in Gazipur. At that time, the faces of the relatives waiting in front of the prison gate were filled with excitement. The just released former BDR members were given sweets.
Earlier on January 21, the court of Dhaka Special Tribunal-2 Judge Md. Ibrahim Miah announced the names of 178 accused who were released on bail.
In this regard, Additional Inspector General of Prisons Colonel Mohammad Mustafa Kamal said that the prison authorities have received a list of 168 people. The BDR members are being released according to that list.
A total of 168 people were released, including 41 from Dhaka Central Jail, 26 from Kashimpur-1, 89 from Kashimpur-2, and 12 from Kashimpur High Security.
On February 25 and 26, 2009, 74 people, including 57 army officers, were killed in a mutiny at the Border Guard Headquarters in Peelkhana, Dhaka. Two cases were filed in that incident under the Murder and Explosives Act. After being acquitted or serving their sentences in the murder case, 468 people are still pending release due to the explosives case.
The trial of 850 people in the murder case ended on November 5, 2013. In addition to the hanging of 152 people, 160 were sentenced to life imprisonment and 256 to various terms of imprisonment. In addition, 278 people were acquitted.
On November 27, 2017, the High Court delivered its verdict on the death reference and appeal in that case. The verdict upheld the death sentences of 139 accused. Along with this, 185 people were given life sentences. In addition, 228 others were sentenced to various terms. And 283 were acquitted.
However, a total of 54 accused, including 15, died before the High Court verdict. As a result, 226 accused have appealed and filed leave to appeal against the High Court verdict in the murder case. On the other hand, the state has filed leave to appeal against the verdict of acquitting 83 accused and reducing the sentence in the High Court. These appeals and leave to appeal are now awaiting hearing.
Meanwhile, the trial of 834 accused in the Explosives Act case began in 2010. But in the middle, the state filed a kind of suspension of the explosives case and presented only the evidence of the murder case. Due to which the trial of this case was delayed.
After the interim government took charge of the change of power, there was a demand to restart the investigation into the BDR mutiny. On December 19, members of the martyr's family went to the International Crimes Tribunal with the complaint. The government formed a commission headed by ALM Fazlur Rahman on December 24 to reinvestigate the murder and gave it 90 days to do so.