The then chief of army staff General (retired) Moeen U Ahmed has said the massacre that took place on 25-26 February 2009 at the then Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) headquarters in Dhaka, was carried out only to annihilate the Bangladesh Army.

“…the victims of that carnage were one of the skilled officers of the army,” he said while speaking to the Bangladesh Pratidin’s US correspondence over the phone from Florida on 26 December.

Expressing satisfaction with the formation of a commission to reinvestigate the carnage, Moeen hoped the fresh enquiry will reveal the real facts.

As many as 57 army officials, among 74 people, were killed in the massacre that took place just two months after the Awami League assumed power following the 2007-08 military-backed caretaker rule.

After the incident, the border force called BDR, was renamed the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).

On 23 December 2024, the interim government formed a seven-member commission to reinvestigate the BDR massacre and uncover the nature of the crimes committed during, before, and after the killings. The commission has been tasked with submitting a report within 90 days.

Speaking to journalists after the commission’s first meeting at the BGB headquarters in Dhaka on 26 December, Major General (retd) ALM Fazlur Rahman, chairman of the newly-formed National Independent Commission, emphasised their commitment to uncover the truth.

However, Moeen told the Bangladesh Pratidin that he has written a book on the Pilkhana carnage titled “Pilkhanay Poishachik Hotyakando” (Barbaric Killings in Pilkhana) and will be published soon. “Many unknown facts have been inserted in the book,” he said.

After the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government amid the mass uprising on 5 August, the former army chief gave his commentary for the first time about the carnage, publishing a 29-minute video on his YouTube channel in September.

He said, "On that day (25 February 2009) at 7:30am, the daily work of the military headquarters began. In the morning I was preparing to go there. At that time, CGS Lt Gen Sinha came to me and said, we have some mortars, which are not used by the army. Their warehousing and maintenance is difficult for us. The BDR uses these. It will benefit us if they take them.

“After that, when I spoke to BDR DG Major General Shakil, he agreed to take them. I believe he knew nothing about this rebellion till then. After that I went for another CGS meeting. The meeting started at 9am. We all got busy there. Around 9:30am, my Principal Secretary Col Feroz entered the room and told me, ‘There was a commotion in the Pilkhana and we need your guidance.’ I adjourned the meeting at once and came to my office with other colleagues. I tried to communicate with the then prime minister Sheikh Hasina and the BDR DG. But their phones  were busy.”

Moeen U Ahmed said, "The military intelligence then told me about the situation. Realising the gravity of the situation and to save time, I then ordered the 46th Independent Infantry Brigade of the army to prepare for the operation without anyone's instructions. They immediately started taking action which was named as 'Operation Restore Order'.

“The BDR DG (Shakil) was found on the phone at 9:47am. He told me, ‘During the Durbar, two armed soldiers entered. One of them stood behind me and fainted. The other crossed the Durbar Hall and went out. Then came the sound of gunshots from outside. Immediately the soldiers started a commotion and left the Durbar Hall. It all seems to be planned and going according to plan. I have sent sector and battalion commanders to bring them back.' Then I told him about the operation.”

The ex-army chief said, “I was able to contact the former prime minister on the phone at 9:54am. Meanwhile, she got a lot of information about the BDR mutiny. When I told her about the operation, she wanted to know how long it would take to prepare the brigade. I informed her that it would usually take six hours, but in the case of an emergency, it could be prepared within two hours.”

Moeen said Sheikh Hasina gave her permission to send the 46th brigade to Pilkhana and it started its journey within an hour with 10 officers and 655 soldiers under the leadership of Brig Gen Hakim, the then commander of the brigade.

“Around 10:30am, the advance party of the brigade crossed the Jahangir Gate. Meanwhile, the rebels deployed rocket launchers, mortars and other weapons to resist the attack in front of the BDR gates. As the first vehicle of the 46th brigade approached the main gate around 11am, insurgents fired rockets at a pickup. The driver died on the spot. According to Lt Col Shams, many officers, including the DG, DDG, Col Anis, Col Kaiser were shot dead between 10:30am and 11am. Our team arrived after 11am.”

Criticising the live coverage on TV channels during the mutiny, the then army chief said the live media coverage at the time of the incident played a negative role in spreading the BDR mutiny.

He said Captain Shafiq reached Pilkhana with 355 Rapid Action Battalion members under his leadership before 10am. At that time, he asked his superior officer for permission to enter the spot, but he did not get it. Had he been allowed, the situation might have been easier to deal with and not so much damage done.

Moeen said, “Around 11:45am, PSO AFD said the government is trying to solve the problem politically. The rebels have demanded that the army must withdraw from the area before any talks are held. If there is no agreement with them then military operations will be conducted. At 12 noon, he called me and asked me to meet the former prime minister at Jamuna on an urgent basis. Around 1pm, former state minister Jahangir Kabir Nanak and whip Mirza Azam went to Pilkhana for discussion.”

The former army chief said a cabinet meeting was going on at Jamuna and no decision was being made. After 2pm, he was informed that an officer came to Jamuna escaping the carnage at Pilkhana. The officer said many people, including other army officers, were killed.

He also said, “The chiefs of the Air Force and the Navy went to Jamuna one and a half hours after I went there. Sheikh Hasina told us that the issue was being dealt with politically. Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Mirza Azam and Taposh were coming to Jamuna with a delegation of rebels and they (rebels) demanded amnesty. Former prime minister (Sheikh Hasina) said, ‘If anything needs to be told to the rebels, we should tell them.’

“Then I told her, 'At the beginning of the Operation Restore Order, one of our soldiers was killed and another was injured critically. I have just come to know that the rebels have killed many officers. None of their demands can be accepted. You tell them – firstly, killing of officers has to stop right now. Secondly, all those detained along with their families must be released immediately. Thirdly, rebels with arms must surrender. And fourthly, amnesty is out of the question’.”

He said, “At 3:48pm, 14 mutineers led by DAD Touhid reached Jamuna for talks. I ordered my ADC to bring their leaders to me. I asked Touhid about the entire situation and the number of people killed. He told me that rebels locked him in a room around 9am and brought him here now. He does not know anything. I told him to inform me about the killings after talking to other rebels. He went into the room where other mutineers were waiting and did not come out later.”

Moeen said Sheikh Hasina held a meeting with the rebels. Taposh, Nanak and Azam were present at the meeting. He did not know about the first phase of negotiations. He was called to the next phase.

“There, the former prime minister announced amnesty and asked the rebels to surrender and return to barracks. They left Jamuna for Pilkhana at 6:37pm. After reaching Pilkhana, they announced that they would not surrender unless a gazette on amnesty was issued. They also started firing and looking for officials.”

The ex-army chief said, at midnight, the then home minister Sahara Khatun, Taposh and the then inspector general of police went to Pilkhana for discussion. At one point, the rebels surrendered some weapons and released eight families, including three of army officers.

He said although Sahara Khatun knew that the officers were being held captive, she neither took any initiative for their release nor made any inquiries.

On 26 February, the rebels started firing again, Moeen said, adding that the former prime minister called him around 10:30am.

He was informed that military operations would be conducted if the rebels did not surrender. The ex-army chief asked for permission to bring tanks from Savar, which was granted and he immediately ordered the tanks to arrive. Other preparations were also made.

Moeen said after hearing about the army's preparations and the arrival of tanks, the rebels agreed to surrender unconditionally.  

As per his advice, Sheikh Hasina in an address to the nation at 2pm set a deadline for the rebels to surrender.

He said, “Seeing the army preparing to attack, the rebels were eager to negotiate and surrender and raised the white flag. At night, a team led by the then home minister entered Pilkhana and they surrendered. This ended the 33-hour mutiny. Fifty-seven officers who were the backbone of the army lost their lives.”