DHAKA, Jan 19, 2025 (BSS) – The Special Tribunal-1 set up in Keraniganj Central Jail, today granted bail to over 200 ex-BDR personnel who had been acquitted earlier by the lower and higher courts in a murder case filed over the 2009 Pilkhana carnage. 
 
Md Ibrahim Miah, Judge of the Special Tribunal-I of Dhaka after hearing the argument of the lawyers of the accused BDR personnel, granted bail in the case filed under Explosive Substance Act.

State Prosecutor Borhan Uddin told BSS that the lawyers of the accused BDR personnel failed to mention the exact number of accused who applied for bail to the court. Even, they failed to produce the exact information before the court that how many persons were acquitted from the lower court, high court or the appellate division, BorhanUddin said, adding that once they told the number was 169, later they claimed it was over 200.

The state Prosecutor said that they filed an appeal to the Supreme Court against 30 people who were acquitted by the trial court and the High Court later awarded life-term imprisonment to 15 accused and the rest 15 were acquitted. In this situation the tribunal announced that who were acquitted by the lower court, High Court and the appellate division, will get bail.
 
A total of 74 people including 57 army officers were killed in a mutiny at the then BDR headquarters in city’s Peelkhana on February 25 and 26 in 2009. Two separate cases were lodged under section 302 and explosive substance act and 850 BDR personnel were tried by the court. 

In a judgment on November 5 in 2013, the court awarded death penalty to 152, life-term imprisonment to 160 and various term of imprisonment to 256. The court also acquitted 278 BDR personnel as allegations raised against them were not proved undoubtedly. 

The High Court on November 27 in 2017 handed down judgment regarding the death reference and appeal of the cases in which the court upheld death penalty to 139, life-term imprisonment to 185, various terms of imprisonment to 228 and acquitted 283. A total of 226 accused of the murder case later filed appeal and leave to appeal before the appellate division against the High Court judgment.

On the other hand, the trial of the explosive substance act case was begun against 834 accused in 2010.
 
Meanwhile, different quarters after the changeover of August 5, raised their demand to the interim government for reinvestigation into the BDR carnage and the members of the martyred families submitted allegations to the International Crime Tribunal on December 19 last.

The interim government on December 24 constituted a commission led by ALM Fazlur Rahman to reinvestigate the carnage and instructed to submit the probe report within 90 days.