Dhaka: Today is the 13th anniversary of the Pilkhana carnage that left 74 people, including 57 army officers, dead.
This day in 2009, several hundred border guards rose up in an armed revolt at Pilkhana during a ‘BDR Week’ and carried out the barbaric carnage.
The mutiny finally ended on February 26 with the surrender of firearms, ammunition and grenades following talks between the government and rebel border guards.
The martyrdom anniversary will be commemorated in memory of the martyrs of the barbaric massacre.
All the regions, institutions, sectors and units, including Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) headquarters, will organise different programmes to observe the day.
The President's representative, the Prime Minister's representative, the home minister, chiefs of three forces, the senior secretary of the public security division and the BGB director general will jointly place a wreath at the memorial to commemorate the martyrs.
A special prayer and milad mahfil will be held tomorrow at BGB Central Mosque, Dhaka Sector Mosque and Border Guard Hospital Mosque in Badjumma Pilkhana.
BGB Director General Major General Md. Safinul Islam, BGBM (Bar), NDC, PSC, invited guests of the Ministry of Home Affairs, close relatives of the martyred persons, all the officers working in Peelkhana and other health officials to take part.
Following the mutiny, the paramilitary force Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) was renamed Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB). Several cases, including murder and looting ones, were filed after the incident.
On November 5, 2013, a Dhaka court, in the country's largest-ever murder case, sentenced 152 people to death, 161 to life imprisonment and 256 to jail for three to 10 years. It also acquitted 277 other people.
On November 27, 2017, the High Court confirmed the death penalty for 139 out of 152.
Besides, the court upheld life sentences for 146 convicts, awarded different terms of imprisonment to 196 and acquitted 41 others.
