127 former BDR soldiers freed from jail after 16 years
Highlights:
- 127 detainees released in phases
- Bail documents for 178 accused were sent to jails on 22 Jan
- 200 got bail on 20 Jan
A total of 127 detainees, accused in an explosives case related to the 2009 BDR mutiny, have been released on bail today (23 January) from various units of Kashimpur central jail in Gazipur.
At around 10:30am, the detainees started being released in phases, Senior Jail Superintendent Abdullah Al Mamun confirmed the matter.
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Family members gathered outside the prison to welcome their loved ones.
I never got to know my father. I heard that when I was one year old, he was accused in this case and imprisoned. After 16 years, I will finally see my father's face in person. This feeling is indescribable.
Bail documents for 178 accused in the explosives case were sent to Keraniganj and Kashimpur prisons on 22 January.
After verifying the documents and ensuring that the detainees are not implicated in any other cases, the authorities began releasing them on bail.
Initially, the senior jail superintendent said that after the release papers for 13 detainees, in the first phase, arrived at the jail early in the morning, they were verified and as there were no other charges against them, they were released.
Then at 11:30am, 25 more soldiers were released from Jail-1, said Jail Superintendent Mohammad Tariqul Islam.
"84 of them were imprisoned in this jail, and 25 of them, who received bail, were released after verifying their release documents."
Finally, at 1:30pm, 79 were freed from Jail-2, said Senior Jail Superintendent Md Al Mamun.
"Out of 378 BDR in this jail, 79 got out after verifying their documents."
Upon seeing their family members, the former BDR soldiers were overcome with emotion and broke down in tears. The scene outside the main gate of Kashimpur central jail was heart-warming.
Enamul, a soldier from the 45th Battalion of Mymensingh, said, "We are innocent and we were imprisoned in false cases by the fascist government of Sheikh Hasina."
He further said the released soldiers should be reinstated in their jobs and provided with all necessary benefits.
He also demanded the real criminals involved in the incident be punished.
Abu Hasan, a soldier from Dhaka division battalion, shared his story saying when the BDR mutiny took place, he had only been in the job for six months.
"There were five gates in Pilkhana. I didn't even know my way around those, yet I was accused. Senior officers, whom we respected as father figures, are now dead, and we had to serve 16 years in jail for a crime we did not commit. Our demand is to regain the respect we lost."
Jamal Uddin Khan's daughter Oishe said she had been waiting for her father's release.
"I never got to know my father. I heard that when I was one year old, he was accused in this case and imprisoned. After 16 years, I will finally see my father's face in person. This feeling is indescribable."
Earlier on 20 January, more than 200 accused in the explosives case, who were acquitted in the murder case or had no appeals pending, were granted bail.
The bail orders were issued by Judge Md Ibrahim Miah of Dhaka's Special Tribunal-1, which held a temporary court session inside Keraniganj central jail.
On 25-26 February 2009, a mutiny in the then Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) left 74 people, including 57 army officers, murdered at the paramilitary force's Pilkhana Headquarters. Following the incident, two cases were filed. One for murder and another under the Explosives Act.
In the murder case, verdicts were delivered on 5 November, 2013, sentencing 152 people to death, 160 to life imprisonment, and 256 to various jail terms. Additionally, 278 individuals were acquitted.
