Hasina orchestrated BDR killings to serve Indian interest, extend power: Families of victims
Families demand probe commission’s report to be published online
Sheikh Hasina orchestrated the Pilkhana massacre to serve India's interests and prolong her grip on power, relatives of officers killed in the 2009 carnage have alleged.
They said the key message of the killings was that any army officer with an anti-India stance would face the same fate as those at Pilkhana, speaking at a press conference today (1 December).
"Hasina carried out the massacre to serve Indian interests and extend her hold on power," Rakin Ahmed Bhuiyan, son of slain BDR chief Maj Gen Shakil Ahmed, said at the event titled "BDR Investigation Commission Report: Families' Reactions" at Dhaka's Mohakhali Rawa Club.
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"The incident was intended to warn officers critical of India that they would suffer consequences similar to the Pilkhana carnage," he added. "Families will not relent until those involved are brought to justice."
Fabliha Bushra, daughter of fallen army officer Lt Col Lutfur Rahman Khan, appealed for her family's safety, saying they had hoped to speak freely after the fall of the "fascist government" but continue to live in fear and anxiety.
Others demanded that all involved be brought to trial and called for the report to be published on the commission's website. They withheld detailed reactions, citing the absence of the full document.
Families also urged political parties not to exploit the nation's most "brutal massacre for political gain".
On Sunday (30 November), the National Independent Investigation Commission submitted its report to Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus. Commission chief Major General (retd) ALM Fazlur Rahman and other members presented the document at CA's official residence Jamuna.
The inquiry found that Hasina gave the "green signal" for the killings, while former lawmaker Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh acted as the "primary coordinator".
The report alleged that India was "the main beneficiary" of the crisis, and found evidence that New Delhi had motives to destabilise Bangladesh.
On 25 and 26 February 2009, 74 people were killed in a mutiny at Pilkhana in Dhaka, including 57 army officers and Bangladesh Rifles Director General Major General Shakil Ahmed. The interim government announced that 25 February would be observed annually as Jatiya Shaheed Sena Dibash.
