6 BDR rebels make confessional statements
Staff Correspondent
The director-general of Bangladesh Rifles said on Wednesday that last month’s rebellion in the Pilkhana had not only caused the untimely death of many talented officers but also destroyed the paramilitary force’s trustworthiness.
‘The mutiny has not only caused the murder of many talented officers but has also shattered people’s trust in the BDR,’ said Moinul Islam, the chief of the BDR, at a press briefing in the BDR headquarters.
‘I have asked the troops to regain the people’s confidence. They have to reveal the truth to recover trustworthiness,’ said Moinul to the BDR soldiers, referring to his recent visit to the BDR sector headquarters in Mymensingh, a battalion headquarters and a border outpost in Jamalpur.
The BDR chief, replying to a query, said that a good number of BDR soldiers are yet to report back, but many of them reported outside the headquarters and the lawmen involved in Operation Rebel Hunt have arrested some others.
‘We are now preparing the list of BDR soldiers who are still absconding, which will be sent to the police stations across the country so that no one can go on hiding,’ he said.
He also appealed to the families of BDR soldiers to make sure that the soldiers cannot remain in hiding, and also to assist the govt to locate the mutineers.
The DG said that he would lead a small delegation this time to the upcoming DG-level meeting in New Delhi with the BSF.
‘The Indian border forces did a good job in the crucial period after the BDR mutiny and we have to thank them for it,’ he said.
Referring to the detention of soldiers in the BDR headquarters, the DG said that there was no scope to keep the arrested soldiers inside the Pilkhana and all the arrested soldiers were sent to the Dhaka Central Jail.
About the reconstitution of the BDR, he said that they were collecting views in this regard and later an organogram would be finalised before taking a decision on the inclusion of old soldiers in the new force.
When asked about the death of BDR soldiers during the mutiny, the DG said that they had found proof that Subedar Major Nurul Islam sacrificed his life in resisting the rebels and the government would declare him a ‘Shaheed’.
If the seven other dead BDR soldiers are found to have been killed for resisting the rebels, they will also be declared Shaheed and their families will get compensation as per the rules of the BDR, he said.
Besides, the family members of the nine other BDR members who died after the mutiny or committed suicide will also be provided with all the facilities including compensation as per the BDR’s rules, he said.
The DG said that arms, ammunition and grenades are still being recovered from hidden places like the soldiers’ bedding and luggage, due to which the soldiers’ quarters are still risky places. It is for this reason that their families have been notified to take their belongings out of the quarters.
The families, in response to the notice, have been submitting applications at Gate No 3, and they will be told when they can take their belongings out of the quarters. More than 200 applications were submitted till midday on Wednesday.
‘Once the quarters are declared safe, the families can return to live in them,’ he said.
The authorities allowed 16 family members of the BDR soldiers to enter the headquarters on Wednesday to take their books and educational materials out of their residences.
The Criminal Investigation Department’s detectives, assigned to investigate the February 25-26 mutiny case filed with Lalbagh police station, continued interrogating the BDR soldiers now on police remand. They also continued collecting evidence from the BDR headquarters.
Six BDR soldiers made confessional statements regarding their involvement in the February 25-26 mutiny to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
They are Subedar Shafiuzzaman, Subedar Gofran Mollick, Havildar Belal Hossain, Lance Nayek Gausul Azam, Nayek Motiur Rahman and carpenter Narayan Kumar Das.
After recording their statements, the two metropolitan magistrates, Moazzem Hossain and Ismail Hossain, sent them to jail.
Another court granted the police 7-day remand of 18 BDR members on Wednesday.
The investigation officer of the case sought a 10-day remand after showing them arrested in the case filed with Lalbagh police station in connection with the mutiny and massacre in the BDR headquarters.
Courtesy of NewAge
