No scope to reinstate 8,796 BDR members: Home Minister

There is no scope to reinstate the 8,796 BDR members who were dismissed or forcibly retired in connection with the BDR mutiny and killings, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has said.

He made the remark while responding to a question from Gaibandha-5 MP Md Abdul Wares during the question-and-answer session in the National Parliament on Thursday.

The Home Minister said that after the 2009 Pilkhana killings, 6,286 BDR members were dismissed and 2,510 were forcibly retired. He stated that action was taken against the guilty following legal procedures, and no innocent member was dismissed. Therefore, there is no scope for their reinstatement.

The Home Minister made it clear that those dismissed after being accused in murder and explosives cases also have no scope for reinstatement.

On February 25-26, 2009, 74 people, including 57 army officers, were killed in a mutiny at the then Border Rifles (BDR) headquarters in Pilkhana, Dhaka. After the incident, BDR was renamed Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), and the force's uniform was also changed.

While the mutiny was tried in the force's own courts, the killings were tried in conventional courts. Many members lost their jobs after being accused of involvement in the incidents, alongside serving various terms of imprisonment.

After the Awami League government was ousted, dismissed BDR members agitated during the interim government period demanding reinstatement with compensation. They alleged they had lost their jobs after being conspired against. At that time, demands for a fresh investigation into the BDR mutiny also gained strength.

Later, in December last year, the government formed a National Independent Investigation Commission to probe the incident. During the interim government period, imprisoned BDR members were also released on bail at various stages.