Staff Reporter :
The trial for the BDR massacre case will now be held at a temporary court within Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj, replacing the previously planned location at the Dhaka Alia Madrasa ground.
On Sunday, the Ministry of Law issued a notification announcing the change. According to the notification, the BDR carnage trial will proceed in the temporary court at Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj instead of the court initially set up at the field adjacent to the government Alia Madrasa and Dhaka Central Jail in Bakshi Bazar.
The decision came after student protests on January 9 against establishing the temporary court on the Alia Madrasa ground in Old Dhaka’s Bakshi Bazar. During the demonstrations, the courtroom set up in the madrasa compound was also set on fire.
The students argued that the ground had historically been used by the City Corporation and claimed it would remain under their control following the July Uprising.
In December 2023, the then-mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, faced backlash for inaugurating the Alia Madrasa ground as the ‘Bakshi Bazar Central Playground’ after its renovation.
This move triggered protests and sit-ins by students, who accused the City Corporation of encroaching on the ground.
The massacre in question occurred on February 25 and 26, 2009, when 74 people, including 57 army officers, were killed during a mutiny at the Border Guard Headquarters in Pilkhana.
