BDR recast report placed in part, govt probe report soon

Absconding jawans now 25; no mercy for post-Feb 25 rebels
The committee, headed by Director General (DG) of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) Maj Gen Md Mainul Islam, that was formed to report on restructuring the paramilitary force, submitted yesterday a partial report suggesting the new logo, the new uniform and the new name for the border guards. 
Meanwhile, the number of the absconding BDR jawans, who went into hiding after the bloody Peelkhana carnage on February 25 and 26, now stands at 25, as most of the fugitive border guards reported to their nearby units and police stations or were arrested by the law enforcers.          
Head of the coordination committee Commerce Minister Lt Col (retd) Faruk Khan was speaking to journalists at a press briefing at the border guards’ Peelkhana headquarters. He said the committee would submit the recommendations to the government after scrutiny.
The press briefing was arranged after the four-hour marathon fifth meeting of the coordination committee at the conference room of the border forces headquarters yesterday.
The meeting has so far taken 52 decisions and 46 of those have been implemented, while six others are being implemented for the force. The briefing session was attended, among others, by BDR DG Mainul Islam and director, operations, Jahangir Kabir Talukder.
Faruk Khan said, “The number of absconding BDR men would have been much higher if many of them had not been arrested or surrendered by this time.” He sought cooperation from the media in arresting the fugitive BDR men.
Replying to a query, he said, “The BDR personnel who revolted after February 25 would not come under the general amnesty declared by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.”
He said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced the general amnesty for the BDR soldiers within hours after the rebellion at the Peelkhana headquarters on February 25. The amnesty was not effective for the soldiers who masterminded the rebellion and were involved in the killing of officers.
“The BDR jawans outside Peelkhana revolted on the second day of the rebellion, by which they have breached the oath and also violated the PM’s order,” Faruk Khan said.
Replying to a query, the minister said that the law enforces had so far arrested a total of 1,581 BDR personnel from different Rifles battalions and sector headquarters in 29 districts outside the capital and all of them were sent to jail.
The law enforcement people in Dhaka arrested a total of 1,390 soldiers and 580 of them were remanded in police custody, while 85 of them made their confessional statements to court, the minister said.
“Besides, the law enforcers recorded statements of 500 soldiers under Section 161 of the criminal code of procedure and they interviewed 3,207 BDR soldiers. The investigation by the criminal investigation department (CID) of police has been going on smoothly and it will take time to finish the investigation into the massacre,” the minister added.
About the missing of firearms, the minister said that the number of missing arms now stands at 93 including pistols, revolvers, rifles and sub-machine guns.
Replying to a query, Faruk Khan said that the sub-committee on BDR restructure had distributed 6,000 forms with a set of 18 questionnaires to different individuals including former officials of police, Army, Navy, Air Force, Ansar and VDP, Rapid Action Battalion, former directors general and deputy DGs and bureaucrats.
Many of the individuals have already sent back the filled-out forms to the sub-committee upon which a partial report was submitted to the coordination committee, and the committee discussed it elaborately at the meeting on Tuesday.
The committee received 10 new names for BDR both in Bengali and English, 10 proposals were sent for the moto, 7 proposals for its logo and separate types of uniforms have been suggested for the paramilitary force: one for duty at the border posts and the other for operating inside the country, the minister said.
“All the proposals will be sent to the government and the government will decide which ones can be chosen for the restructured force, ” he added.
On the probe committees, Faruk Khan said that only the army inquiry committee has submitted its report, while report of the government committee is expected soon while the investigation committee report will require time.
Terming publishing of the army inquiry committee report “fabricated”, the minister said that it was yet to be sent to the government. The army inquired into the incident on its own and they will implement the findings and, if necessary, they will send a portion of the report to the government, the minister added.
Chief of the BDR Maj Gen Md Mainul Islam told reporters that the BDR men, who revolted after declaration of the amnesty by the Prime Minister on February 25 across the country, committed more grave offences. 
The BDR yesterday published a list of 25 BDR men who remained absconding since the Peelkhana carnage on February 25.
According to the new list, the absconding soldiers were sepoy Mohammad Mainuddin of 13 Rifles Battalion, nayek driver Mohammad Ayub Ali of Dhaka Sector headquarters, sepoy Bishu Mitra Barua of 1 Rifle Battalion, sepoy Mohammad Rezaul Karim of 7 Rifles Battalion, sepoy Ayub Ali of 9 Rifles Battalion, sepoy Baki Billah of 13 Rifles Battalion, sepoy Atiqur Rahman of 13 Rifles Battalion, sepoy Mohammad Sadullah of 13 Rifles Battalion, sepoy Mizanur Rahman of 24 Rifles Battalion, sepoy Paltan Chakma of 24 Rifles Battalion, sepoy Mukul Alam of 24 Rifles Battalion, sepoy Qamrul Hasan of 26 Rifles Battalion, sepoy Mezbah Uddin of 31 Rifles Battalion, sepoy Qamrul Islam of 36 Rifles Battalion.
The list also includes Sepoy Mohammad Selim of 36 Rifles Battalion, sepoy Nurul Alam of 36 Rifles Battalion, sepoy Al Mamun of 44 Rifles Battalion, lance nayek Hamidul Islam of 44 Rifles Battalion, sepoy Abdus Samad of 44 Rifles Battalion, sepoy Anisur Rahman of 44 Rifles Battalion, sepoy Farhad Hossain of Headquarters Rifles Battalion, sepoy Noor Hossain of Headquarters Rifles Battalion, nayek assistant Mizanur Rahman of Record Wing, Mokbul Hossain of DDG office and sepoy medical assistant Nazrul Islam Mollick of BDR Hospital.
The list had been sent to police stations, airports and frontier areas to arrest the absconding soldiers, the minister said.
The government also announced a cash reward of Tk 50,000 for the arrest of each of the absconding soldiers and the announcement remains in effect till date, he added.

Courtesy of The Independent