60 BGB men relieved of sedition charges
Sixty jawans of BGB (Border Guard Bangladesh) have been relieved of sedition charges in Chapainawabganj and Dinajpur.
Our Chapainawabganj correspondent quoted public prosecutor office sources as saying that sedition cases against 30 jawans of BGB 39 Battalion were withdrawn on July 7 as per decision of the home ministry.
Judge Mostaque Ahmed of Additional District and Sessions Judge's Court relieved the jawans of sedition charges following an appeal made by Public Prosecutor (PP) advocate Jobdul Haque.
Following a mutiny at 39 BGB Battalion on February 26 in 2009, the then officer-in-charge of Chapainawabganj Sadar Police Station Ahsanul Haque filed the sedition cases against 30 jawans of the battalion with the Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court on May 18 the same year.
Immediately after filing of the case, the accused were arrested and produced in the Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court that sent them to jail hajat.
In the case statement, the OC alleged that the jawans revolted against their officers at the battalion on February 26, expressing solidarity with the mutineers of the BGB headquarters at Pilkhana in the capital capital. They looted firearms from armoury, fired blank shots and took control of the battalion headquarters.
Later, 20 out of the 30 BGB men were tried in the special court-12 led by Rajshahi Sector Commander Col Ehia Azam Khan in a case for mutiny at the battalion. The court sentenced them to different jail terms on April 12 this year.
In Dinajpur, Special Judge Md Rafiqul Alam relieved 30 BGB members of Dinajpur sector and Dinajpur 2 Battalion on June 4 following an appeal made by Special Public Prosecutor (PP) advocate Kazem Uddin Ahmed, reports our correspondent.
Of the BGB men, 17 were from Dinajpur 2 Battalion while the rest from sector headquarters. The PP appealed to the court as per directive of the home ministry, court sources said.
On May 11 in 2009, the then officer-in-charge of Dinajpur Police Station Hasan Shamim Iqbal filed sedition cases against the jawans with Special Judge's Court as they (jawans) revolted against their officers at the sector headquarters and the battalion on February 26 the same year.
Later, the jawans faced mutiny charges and were sentenced to different jail terms by the BGB special court-13 led by Col Saleh Ahmad on March 1 this year.
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