Pilkhana carnage: Bail hearing in explosive case today

A makeshift court set up inside Keraniganj Central Jail is set to hold today a hearing in the Explosives Act case over the 2009 Pilkhana BDR carnage.

Judge Ibrahim Miah, of Special Tribunal-1, will start trial proceedings on Sunday (January 19). Today is fixed for holding hearing of the case in the makeshift courtroom.

A total of 74 people, including 57 army officers, were killed in a bloody mutiny at the BGB Headquarters in Pilkhana on February 25 and 26, 2009, sending shock waves around the world.

Following the tragedy, the Bangladesh Rifles frontier force was renamed as Border Guard Bangladesh, or BGB, and its logo and uniform were changed.

While mutiny-related trials took place in BGB courts, the killings were tried in conventional courts.

In the two cases - one for murder and another under the Explosive Substances Act - 468 BDR members remain imprisoned despite serving time for murder due to pending explosives charges.

The murder trial concluded on November 5, 2013, with 152 individuals sentenced to death, 160 to life imprisonment, and 256 to varying prison terms, while 278 were acquitted.

The High Court upheld 139 death sentences, sentenced 185 to life imprisonment, and handed down varying sentences to 228 others in 2017.

The appeals and leaves to appeal are now awaiting hearings.

Meanwhile, the explosives charges trial, initiated in 2010, was paused midway through to focus on the murder trial, leaving the proceedings incomplete.

The demand for a reinvestigation gained traction under the interim government after a writ petition was filed in the Supreme Court in November.

The notification outlined the commission's responsibilities, including identifying conspirators, perpetrators, and facilitators, both domestic and international, behind the Pilkhana killings.

The commission has been empowered to visit any location, summon individuals, and induct additional members as needed.

It must submit its findings to the government within 90 days.