BNP has expressed optimism that the "mystery" behind the 2009 BDR mutiny will be unveiled as the interim government has taken the initiative to re-investigate the carnage.
“We strongly believe that its mystery will be uncovered (through the re-investigation),” said BNP standing committee member Maj (retd) Hafizuddin Ahmed on Tuesday.
He was addressing a press conference at BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan Office here in the city, a day after the interim government decided to re-investigate the BDR carnage.
On 25-26 February 2009, a mutiny in the then Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) left 74 people, including 57 army officers, murdered at the Pilkhana Headquarters in Dhaka, a month after Awami League formed the government.
Noting that the killing of army officers is a heartbreaking incident, Hafizuddin said it was carried out as per a far-reaching plan to make Bangladesh a dependent state. “This killing was carried out to make Bangladesh a failed state by breaking the moral strength of the patriotic army.”
He said the BNP wrote a letter to the interim government over the carnage and sought an inquiry commission to be constituted.
In response, the Home Affairs Ministry took the initiative for re-investigation. “We are pleased that they have acted quickly in this regard,” he said, extending sincere thanks to the interim government and the home adviser.
“If they (the government) form a commission and try it in a special tribunal, we hope this issue will be resolved quickly," he said.
He expressed hope that the current interim government will investigate the incident impartially and initiate the trial process speedily.
Hafizuddin, also a former army officer, alleged the Awami League’s top leaders were involved in this killing. “The activities of the then prime minister (Sheikh Hasina) following this killing were very mysterious,” he said.
He said they came to know later that a meeting was held at the residence of local AL leader and Ward councillor Torab Ali on February 22, 2009, three days before the mutiny.
In the meeting, AL top leaders were present and plans were made on how the mutiny and the killing were to be carried out, he claimed.
He said the people think that the then prime minister Sheikh Hasina, former Army Chief Moeen U Ahmed, Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, Noor-E-Alam Chowdhury, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Mirza Azam, Hasanul Haq Inu, Sahara Khatun and many other AL leaders and Sheikh Hasina’s close relatives were involved in this killing.
He said though the BDR carnage happened in 2009 after Awami League had come to power, it remains a mystery. “Whether the (then) government and foreign powers were involved in the killing remains unclear,” he said.
Hafizuddin said the report of the then quartermaster general of Bangladesh Army and current Home Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury-led inquiry commission, formed by the Bangladesh Army, didn’t see light as well.
The BNP standing committee members said they hope to see a fair end to the probe into this heinous BDR killing in a very short period. “We want the trial so that our victim families could feel comfort in mind," he said.
He said his party would extend all sorts of cooperation so that the government could properly conduct the re-investigation and retrial processes.
BNP Standing Committee members Salahuddin Ahmed and Dr AZM Zahid Hossain, BNP chairperson’s adviser Ismail Jabiullah and retired brigadier general AKM Shamsul Islam were present at the press conference.
