Another 40 members of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), who were arrested in connection with the 2009 Pilkhana mutiny, have been granted bail. The decision was made by Dhaka's Special Tribunal-2 on May 8, as confirmed by court sources on Monday.
According to Shahadat Hossain, the bench assistant for the tribunal, some of the individuals granted bail had previously been sentenced to death. Among those released are Rezaul Karim, Shahjahan, Rafiqul Islam, Saiful Islam, Md Shamim, Wali Ullah, Habibur Rahman, and many others.
This latest development comes after a similar decision earlier this year. Back in January, the same court granted bail to 178 BDR members, who were then released from jails in Keraniganj and Kashimpur on January 23.
The 2009 mutiny, which took place at the BDR headquarters in Pilkhana, led to the tragic deaths of 74 people, including 57 army officers. Following the incident, two major cases were filed—one for murder and the other under the Explosives Act.
In 2013, the murder trial wrapped up, with 152 individuals sentenced to death, 160 to life imprisonment, and 256 receiving various sentences. Another 278 were acquitted. A few years later, in 2017, the High Court upheld the death sentences of 139 people, while 185 others got life terms, and 228 received different prison sentences. A total of 283 individuals were cleared of charges. Over the years, 54 of the accused have passed away.
Currently, 226 of the convicted individuals have appealed or filed leave-to-appeal petitions against the High Court's verdict, and the state has filed appeals against reduced sentences for 83 others. These appeals are still pending.
At the same time, there are growing calls for a fresh investigation into the mutiny. On December 19, the families of the victims took their complaints to the International Crimes Tribunal. Just a few days later, on December 24, the government formed a commission, led by retired Major General ALM Fazlur Rahman, to look into the incident and gave them a 90-day timeframe to complete the review.
