Staff Reporter :
The High Court on Tuesday issued a rule asking the government to explain why a commission would not be formed to re-investigate the tragic deaths of army officers during the 2009 BDR mutiny at Pilkhana, the headquarters of the former Bangladesh Rifles.
An HC bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Debashish Roy Chowdhury issued the rule following a preliminary hearing on a writ petition filed by Supreme Court lawyer Advocate Tanvir Ahmed.
The writ calls for a deeper investigation into the events of February 25-26, 2009, which led to the deaths of 74 individuals, including 57 army officers, at the BDR headquarters.
Advocate Ahmed argued that the people of the country want to know the truth behind the killings, as prior investigations have left questions unanswered.
According to the petition, when the interim government assumed office, an adviser from the Ministry of Home Affairs had proposed a re-investigation into the mutiny.
However, no action has been taken yet, prompting the filing of the writ petition.
On 5 November 2013, a Dhaka court handed down death sentences to 150 BDR members and two civilians, and life imprisonment to 160 others in this connection.
On 27 November 2017, the High Court confirmed the death penalty for 139 out of the 152 convicts.
Following the heinous killings of the army officers, the government renamed the mutiny-hit paramilitary force BDR as the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), changing its logo as well as uniform.