BDR mutiny explosives case trial to resume at Keraniganj jail court
Sacked Bangladesh Rifles members, students and the families of the BDR members dismissed from the force and imprisoned after the 2009 BDR massacre staged demonstrations on Sunday in different districts of the country to press home their three-point demands, including immediate release and reinstatement of the imprisoned and sacked BDR members.
Their demands included identifying and ensuring exemplary punishment to the responsible individuals and masterminds for the killing of 74 people, including 57 army officers, in the massacre and the release of all innocent BDR members, reinstatement of all those who were unjustly dismissed from their jobs with full government benefits and the assurance of independent and impartial work of the commission formed to reinvestigate the BDR carnage.
The government announced on Sunday that the remaining trial of the explosives case tied to the 2009 Bangladesh Rifles mutiny would now take place at a makeshift court inside the Dhaka Central Jail at Keraniganj.
The law, justice, and parliamentary affairs ministry issued a gazette notification in this regard, shifting the case from the makeshift court at Government Alia Madrassah, designated for the trial by the Awami League government on December 28, 2010.
The relocation comes after a fire damaged the makeshift courtroom at Government Alia Madrassah on the night of January 9.
Dhaka additional metropolitan sessions judge Md Ibrahim Mia accompanied by chief public prosecutor Borhan Uddin and his team inspected the site before deferring proceedings to January 19.
On Sunday, Dhaka district unit of the BDR Welfare Council organised a human chain at the Anti-Terrorism Raju Memorial Sculpture on the Dhaka University campus to press home the three-point demands.
Addressing the demonstration, Mahin Sarker, a coordinator of the Students Against Discrimination, said that justice must be delivered to the victims in the massacre.
‘It is unfortunate that people have to take to the streets to demand justice from the interim government that was formed following a student-led mass uprising,’ he said.
Criticising and questioning the function of the reinvestigation commission, Mahin said that the commission was instructed to consider the convicted individuals as guilty.
