824 charged in Bangladesh border guards mutiny
By IANSMonday, July 12, 2010
DHAKA - A total of 801 border guards and 23 civilians will be charged in the February 2009 mutiny at the headquarters of Bangladesh’s paramilitary force that left at least 74 people dead, including 57 army officers, a top official said Monday.
“The chargesheet in Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) mutiny case will accuse around 801 border guards and 23 civilians of murder, looting, arson and hiding bodies in mass graves,” Abdul Kahar Akand, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officer, said at a press briefing Monday, according to Xinhua.
He said the mutiny took place at 62 spots in the headquarters in Dhaka.
Other offences committed by the accused during the Feb 25-26 mutiny include breach of discipline and defying superiors’ orders at the headquarters in Dhaka and other stations of the force across the country, he said.
The maximum punishment under the country’s penal code is death while under the BDR laws, it is imprisonment for seven years.
During the mutiny, nearly 8,000 BDR personnel were present at the headquarters.
