Dhaka, April 6 (IANS) Hundreds of dismissed members of Bangladesh Rifles on Sunday staged a protest in Dhaka demanding reinstatement to their jobs and compensation.
The members of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), now known as Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) gathered near the main gate of the BGB headquarters in Pilkhana. Most of the protesters lost their jobs following the 2009 Pilkhana massacre, which resulted in the deaths of 74 people, local media reported.
In response to the demonstration, a large number of police personnel were deployed to the area, along with members of the army and BGB.
“They are stationed on the footpath across from the BGB gate, near the lake. We are trying to start a dialogue with them,” an official said.
The country’s leading newspaper Prothom Alo reported that, on 25 February 2009, several hundred Bangladesh Rifles men rose in an armed revolt at the Darbar Hall of the force’s Pilkhana headquarters during the three-day “BDR Week”. They killed 74 people, including 57 army officers.
The mutiny finally ended the following day with the surrender of firearms, ammunition and grenades through a negotiation between the then government and the BDR rebels.
Some 152 people were sentenced to death and 423 others to different jail terms in the country’s largest-ever killing case. Among the convicts, 262 mutineers were sentenced to different jail terms ranging from three months to 19 years. On the other hand, 5,926 BDR personnel were sentenced to different jail terms ranging from four months to seven years in the 57 mutiny cases.
Last month, addressing a commemoration ceremony in Dhaka on the Pilkhana killings, Bangladesh’s Chief of Army Staff, General Waker-Uz-Zaman, urged all to refrain from disrupting the trial of the Pilkhana killings.
He emphasised that the incident was committed entirely by members of the then Bangladesh Rifles (BDR).
Reports suggest that in recent months, the dismissed BDR members and their families have staged protests, placing several demands, including annulment of the verdict of the former Sheikh Hasina government’s alleged cases against them and release of the BDR personnel detained.
–IANS
int/scor/dan
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by TodayIndia.news and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TodayIndia.news We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, TodayIndia.news takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
