BDR Mutiny Security Implications For Bangladesh And The Region, Special Report
As the 36-hour long bloody mutiny by a number of the Bangladesh Rifles (paramilitary force in the country) personnel, who happened to be known as the ‘ever-vigilantsentinels of the border’, at its headquarters in Dhaka drew to a conclusion, along it took the lives of 56 officers, with 7 missing and a number of by-stander casualty. Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) jawans (soldiers), who are entrusted with the duty to safeguard the border of the country, staged a mutiny on the 25 February 2009, the second day of the yearly occasion “BDR Week” which was earlier (24 February 2009) inaugurated by the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. More than a thousand BDR soldiers mutinied, took over the BDR headquarters, sprayed bullets in the Darbar (BDR’s yearly gathering/ meeting) to kill senior BDR officers (who are on deputation from Bangladesh Army) and held their families as hostage. By the second day (26 February 2009) the so called “Rebellion” spread over to 12 other towns and cities across the country. Though the mutiny crumbled on 26 February (2009) in the face of a fear of using military force, it cost the lives of innocent military officers including BDR Director General, Major General Shakil Ahmed, and his wife, invoked lament among the families of the victims and left the country in a disarray
