95 jailed for mutiny, two acquitted in Rangamati
A special court sentenced 95 jawans of 9 and 18 Rifles Battalions of BDR to prison yesterday for their involvement in the mutiny on February last year.
The Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), later renamed Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), convicts are to serve prison terms ranging from a minimum of four months to a maximum of seven years. In addition to jail terms, the court also fined each convict Tk 100.
Out of 95 convicts, 74 are from 9 Rifles Battalion while 21 are from 18 Rifles Battalion.
The court acquitted two accused Subedar Md Shah Alam and Havilder Selim Reza of 18 Rifles Battalion as the allegations brought against them could not be proved.
The court led by Col Zahedur Rahman, started delivering the verdicts at 9:00am and continued for half an hour, later resumed at 2:00pm. The trial proceedings were set up at Mechanical Transport Shed in the town's BGB sector headquarters.
During the first half of delivering verdicts, seven out of 21 convicts of 18 Rifles Battalion were jailed for a highest of seven years while the remaining were sentenced to shorter terms of imprisonment.
In the second half, six of the convicts out of 74 from 9 Rifles Battalion were sentenced for highest seven years rigorous imprisonment while the others were sentenced to different terms of imprisonment.
Nayek Subedar Shahadat Lohani of 18 Rifles Battalion and Junior Commissioned Officer Md Rezaur Rahman of 9 Rifles Battalion filed two separate cases against the jawans for rebelling against their officers on February 26, 2009.
Earlier, all the jawans had claimed their innocence and appealed to the court to acquit them from the 'false case'.
Lt Col Sayedus Saqlain and Maj Golam Mostafa Al-Mamun were present as members of the court while deputy attorney general Kazi Izarul Haque Akand was the representative of attorney general.
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