Sylhet BDR Mutiny
Deposition of all 21 witnesses completed
The special court-14 yesterday completed taking statements of all the 21 witnesses in the mutiny case against 61 BDR personnel of 38 Rifles Battalion under Sylhet sector.
Recording of the witnesses' statements began at the court at 8:30am and continued until 4:45pm. Arguments in the case will start today.
On Monday, the special court framed mutiny charges against 61 jawans of the battalion. Of them, 34 claimed innocence while the rest confessed to their involvement in the mutiny and prayed for mercy.
Earlier on October 20, Prosecutor Major Amanullah Khan, acting commanding officer of 38 Battalion, read out the allegations against the accused at the court, headed by Col SM Farhad. Two other members are Lt Col Akhtaruzzaman and Major Maksudul Alam.
Deputy Attorney general Farhad Ahmed represented the attorney General while special public prosecutors Gazi Zillur Rahman and Habibur Rahman Sheikh were present.
After the court framed charges, the prosecution witnesses started giving deposition before the court. They said the accused had revolted at the battalion headquarters on February 26 last year, expressing solidarity with the mutineers of BDR headquarters at Pilkhana in the capital.
They took control of the battalion in the city's Akhalia area on Sylhet-Sunamganj highway, blocked the main road and set fire to the vehicles, the witnesses said.
The then officer-in-charge of Sylhet Kotwali Police Station Syeduzzaman filed three separate cases with the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court on May 17 last year against the rebel BDR men of Sylhet sector and two battalions.
They were immediately arrested and were produced before the Chief Judicial magistrate, who sent them to the jail.
Our Khagrachhari correspondent adds: Four more witnesses in the mutiny case against 47 jawans of 29 Rifles Batalian gave their statements before the special court-15 yesterday.
After taking statements, the court headed by Chittagong BDR sector commander Lt Col Zahedur Rahman ordered the authorities concerned to produce all the 47 accused in the court at 9:00am today. Two other members of the court are Lt Col Abdur Nur and Major AZM Golam Mostafa AL Mamun.
Three of the 47 accused had earlier confessed to their involvement in the mutiny while the rest claimed innocence.
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