Charges framed against 44 Sylhet mutineers
The special Court-14, set up at Sylhet sector headquarters, yesterday framed charges against 44 mutineers of 21 Rifles Battalion.
Of the accused, 37 admitted to their involvement in the mutiny at the battalion on February 26 last year while the rest claimed innocence. The court then adjourned its proceedings until 8:30am today.
Deputy Attorney General Farhad Ahmed, Public Prosecutor of Sylhet Misbah Uddin Siraj, and special public prosecutors Gazi Zillur Rahman and Sheikh Md Selim were present.
The then officer-in-charge of Sylhet Kotwali Police Station Syeduzzaman filed three separate cases with the Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court on May 17 last year against the BDR men as they revolved against their officers at the battalion, expressing solidarity with the mutineers of BDR headquarters at Pilkhana in the capital.
They were later arrested and produced in the court that sent them to the jail hajat.
On October 20, prosecutor Lt Col Khairul Quadir, commanding officer of the battalion, read out the allegations against the 44 BDR rebels at the special court headed Comilla Sector Commander Col SM Farhad. Two other members are Lt Col Akhtaruzzaman and Major Maksudul Alam.
He alleged that the BDR jawans took control of the battalion headquarters on February 26 and set fire to some vehicles, including three private vehicles of BDR officials. They also blocked the road in front of the battalion headquarters and fired at least 200 blank shots, he added.
A BDR jawan named Lance Nayek Abdus Salam fell sick while trial at the special court was going on. He was immediately taken to the Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College and Hospital.
Our kurigram correspondent reported that the trial proceedings against 50 mutineers of 27 Rifles Battalion at Kurigram under Rangpur sector continued more than an hour from 9:45am yesterday.
All the accused were produced in the special court-13 headed by Dinajpur Sector Commander Col Md Saleh Ahmad. Two other members of the court are Lt Col Mahfuz Alam and Major Didar Al Latif. Lt Col Abdur Razzak, commanding officer of the battalion, is the prosecutor.
The court ordered all the accused to appoint their lawyers and adjourned the trial proceedings until January 3 next year.
On Monday, Nayeb Subedar Munshi Monwar Hossain of the battalion brought charges against 50 BDR rebels of 27 rifles battalion.
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