Keraniganj: The Special Tribunal-1 established in Keraniganj Central Jail has granted bail to over 200 former Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) personnel who had previously been acquitted by both lower and higher courts in a murder case related to the 2009 Pilkhana carnage.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the bail was granted by Judge Md Ibrahim Miah of the Special Tribunal-I of Dhaka following a hearing of arguments presented by the lawyers representing the accused BDR personnel. The case in question was filed under the Explosive Substance Act. State Prosecutor Borhan Uddin revealed that the lawyers failed to state the exact number of accused who applied for bail. Initially, they mentioned 169 individuals, but later claimed it was over 200.
The state prosecutor also noted that an appeal had been filed to the Supreme Court concerning 30 individuals who were acquitted by the trial court. The High Court later sentenced 15 of them to life imprisonment while acquitting the remaining 15. The tribunal decided to grant bail to those acquitted by the lower court, High Court, and appellate division.
The 2009 Pilkhana carnage resulted in the deaths of 74 people, including 57 army officers, during a mutiny at the then-BDR headquarters in the city. Subsequent legal proceedings saw 850 BDR personnel tried under section 302 and the Explosive Substance Act. On November 5, 2013, the court handed down death penalties to 152 individuals, life imprisonment to 160, and various terms of imprisonment to 256, while acquitting 278 due to insufficient evidence.
Further developments occurred on November 27, 2017, when the High Court delivered judgments on the death references and appeals, upholding the death penalty for 139, life imprisonment for 185, and various terms for 228, while acquitting 283. Appeals and leave to appeal were filed by 226 accused in the murder case before the appellate division against the High Court’s judgment.
The trial under the Explosive Substance Act began in 2010 against 834 accused. Following the events of August 5, various groups urged the interim government for a reinvestigation into the carnage. Allegations were submitted by the families of the martyred to the International Crime Tribunal on December 19. Subsequently, on December 24, the interim government formed a commission led by ALM Fazlur Rahman to re-examine the events and instructed the submission of a probe report within 90 days.