Independent Probe Committee formation on BDR carnage halted

Staff Reporter :

The Home Ministry has announced that the formation of an independent national committee to investigate the 2009 BDR (now BGB) headquarters carnage cannot proceed at this time, as two related cases are still under trial.

This information was provided by the Public Security Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs in response to a writ petition seeking the formation of an independent committee to investigate the killings and atrocities that occurred during the Pilkhana tragedy.

The state’s position was presented on Sunday (Dec 15) during a hearing at the High Court bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Debashish Roy Chowdhury, who postponed further hearings until January 5.

Deputy Attorney General Tanim Khan and Assistant Attorney General Muzahidul Islam Shaheen represented the state, while lawyers Tanvir Ahmed and Biplob Kumar Poddar appeared for the petitioners.

The petition, filed in November, requested the formation of the committee and the declaration of a “Martyred Soldiers Day” in honor of those who lost their lives in the massacre on February 25-26, 2009.

The Home Ministry explained in its statement that two cases stemming from the carnage—one under murder charges and the other under the Explosives Act—are at different stages of trial.

The murder case, which resulted in the sentencing of 152 individuals to death, 161 to life imprisonment, and various other sentences for 256 others, has concluded at the High Court level but remains under appeal in the Appellate Division. The explosives case is still under trial in a Dhaka court.

The ministry emphasized that forming the committee as per the petitioners’ request could conflict with ongoing judicial proceedings. However, it assured that the matter is being treated with the utmost importance by the government.

The Pilkhana massacre, orchestrated by mutinous BDR members, claimed 74 lives, including 57 army officers. The court rulings have been widely regarded as landmark judgments in addressing the tragic events of February 2009.