56 more Bangladesh border guards convicted for mutiny
April 19th, 2010 - 8:14 pm ICT by IANSDhaka, April 19 (IANS) Another 56 troopers of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), the country’s border guards, were Monday convicted for staging a violent mutiny last year in which 71 people, including the force’s commander, were killed.
The 56 were of the total 60 accused of the 7 Rifles Battalion. The remaining four were acquitted.
BDR Director General Maj. Gen. Mohammed Mainul Islam, who was presiding over the trial, read out the judgment at Satkhira on the south western border with India. Of the 56, 24 were given the highest punishment of seven years’ imprisonment as per the BDR law, Star Online, w4eb site of The Daily Star newspaper said.
The rest were sentenced to terms of imprisonment from four months to five years.
With this - the fourth judgment in the mutiny trials, the total number of BDR personnel convicted so far rose to 173.
Earlier, 20 troopers of 25 Rifles Battalion, 40 of 20 Rifles Battalion and 57 of 19 Rifles Battalion were sentenced to different terms of imprisonment. The BDR chief has been presiding over the special courts trying the accused in various border towns.
Thousands of troopers stationed at the BDR headquarters at Pilkhana in the heart of Dhaka unauthorisedly drew arms and attacked the force’s entire officer corps that was holding a meeting on Feb 25 last year.
Among the 57 Bangladesh Army officers, on deputation to the BDR, gunned down on the spot was BDR chief, Maj. Gen. Shakil Ahmed.
The mutiny spread to other centres leaving the 4,300 km border with India and 300 km with Myanmar largely unmanned.
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- 2009 mutiny: Bangladesh jails 657 border guards - Jun 27, 2011
- 53 troopers plead guilty to Bangladesh Rifles mutiny - Jan 25, 2010
- Dhaka mulls stringent law to tackle rebellion - Feb 25, 2011
- Bangladesh border guard mutineers' trial adjourned - Apr 27, 2010
- Trial of Bangladesh border guard mutineers to begin Tuesday - Nov 22, 2009
- Border guards' trial begins for Dhaka massacre - Aug 24, 2011
- Bangladesh gets new border force post-mutiny - Jan 23, 2011
- Bangladesh border guards get a new chief - Apr 15, 2010
- Dhaka to disband four border guard battalions - Oct 29, 2009
- Submit Bangladesh Rifles mutiny report by March 10, police told - Jan 27, 2010
- Dhaka to try 4,000 troopers for mutiny - Sep 26, 2009
- Stringent law in offing for Bangladesh border guards - Sep 20, 2010
- Dhaka begins mutiny trial of border guards - Nov 25, 2009
- Bangladesh coup attempt foiled (Lead) - Jan 19, 2012
Tags: army officers, bangladesh rifles, battalion, border guards, border towns, daily star, deputation, director general, four months, heart, imprisonment, India, islam, judgment, mohammed, mutiny, seven years, shakil ahmed, special courts, western border