Pilkhana Massacre: Families of BDR personnel protest at Shaheed Minar again

Family members of BDR personnel accused in the Pilkhana massacre are holding a sit-in demonstration at Dhaka’s Central Shaheed Minar for a second consecutive day, to push for a three-point list of demands including a reinvestigation of the incident and the release of “innocent jawans”.

They have also announced a march towards Shahbagh on Thursday afternoon, reports bdnews24.com.

"There are 824 people in prison. Some of them have died. Many have been sacked. We are demanding the release of the prisoners, the reinstatement of their jobs, and the rehabilitation of those dismissed," said Molla Nabiullah, father of imprisoned BDR member Molla Sayeed Hasan.

The protesters at the sit-in demanded the release of all BDR personnel arrested over the Pilkhana massacre, the scrapping of the Pilkhana massacre case, the reinstatement and rehabilitation of those dismissed from their jobs, and a fresh investigation into the tragedy.

"We will start the march towards Shahbagh at 1:00 pm," Naimul Hasan, a student representative of the protesters at the Shaheed Minar, said.

The programme by the relatives of the arrested BDR personnel began on Wednesday morning. They formed a human chain at the Shaheed Minar to push for their demands. They then marched towards the State Guest House Jamuna, the official residence of the chief advisor, with the intent to deliver a memorandum.

When they reached the Shahbagh intersection after 12:30 pm, the police blocked them. Additional police personnel were deployed in the area to control the situation. Later, a delegation was allowed to go and submit the memorandum.

"A delegation of nine of us, led by Mahin Sarkar, a member of the executive committee of the Anti-discrimination Student Movement, went to the residence of the chief advisor with a memorandum," Riazuddin, the brother of a jailed BDR member, told bdnews24.com.

"The other protesters then split, with a section taking up positions on the road near Shahbagh Police Station, while another returned to the Shaheed Minar."

"We stayed at the Shaheed Minar overnight. We will continue the movement until our demands are met."

A total of 74 people, including 57 army officers, were killed in a bloody mutiny at the BGB Headquarters in Pilkhana on Feb 25 and 26, 2009, sending shock waves around the world.

Following the tragedy, the Bangladesh Rifles frontier force was rechristened as Border Guard Bangladesh, or BGB, and its logo and uniform were changed.

While mutiny-related trials took place in BGB courts, the killings were tried in conventional courts.

In the two cases - one for murder and another under the Explosive Substances Act - 468 BDR members remain imprisoned despite serving time for murder due to pending explosives charges.

The murder trial concluded on Nov 5, 2013, with 152 individuals sentenced to death, 160 to life imprisonment, and 256 to varying prison terms, while 278 were acquitted.

The High Court upheld 139 death sentences, sentenced 185 to life imprisonment, and handed down varying sentences to 228 others in 2017.

The appeals and leave to appeals are now awaiting hearings.

Meanwhile, the explosives charges trial, initiated in 2010, was paused midway through to focus on the murder trial, leaving the proceedings incomplete.

The demand for a reinvestigation gained traction under the interim government after a writ petition was filed in the Supreme Court in November.

The notification outlined the commission's responsibilities, including identifying conspirators, perpetrators, and facilitators, both domestic and international, behind the Pilkhana killings.

The commission has been empowered to visit any location, summon individuals, and induct additional members as needed.

It must submit its findings to the government within 90 days.

The home ministry's Public Security Division will provide logistical and financial support, while commission members will receive government-approved remuneration unless they choose to forgo it with Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus's consent.