A total of 126 BDR jawans, who were behind bars for nearly 16 years after being accused in an explosives case filed in connection with the 2009 BDR carnage in Pilkhana, on Thursday were released from Kashimpur Central Jail in Gazipur.
“We have received the release orders of 126 jawans… on Thursday morning. They were later released from jail in phases after scrutinising the orders,” said Abdullah-Al-Mamun, senior jail superintendent of Kashimpur High Security Central Jail.

Of them, 24 were incarcerated at Kashimpur Central Jail Part-1, 89 at Part-2 and 13 are in High Security Central Jail.
The former border security personnel were acquitted in the Pilkhana murder case, but were serving their sentences in the explosives case.
Dhaka Special Tribunal-1 Judge Md Ibrahim Mia granted bail to the suspects on Sunday. The list of 178 people who were granted bail was released on Tuesday.
Since their bail bonds were submitted on Wednesday, preparations for their release began.
A total of 74 people, including 57 army officers, were killed in a bloody mutiny at the BGB Headquarters in Dhaka’s Pilkhana on 25-26 February 2009, raising serious questions regarding the country’s overall security system.

Consequently, the Bangladesh Rifles frontier force was rechristened as Border Guard Bangladesh, and its logo and uniform were also changed.
Though mutiny-related trials took place in BGB courts, the killings were tried in traditional courts.
In the two cases - one for murder and another under the Explosives Act - 468 BDR members remain imprisoned despite serving time for murder due to pending explosives charges.

The murder trial concluded on 5 November 2013, with 152 individuals sentenced to death, 160 to life imprisonment, and 256 to various 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 in 2017 while 283 others were acquitted.
Before the High Court verdict, 54 suspects died, while 226 challenged the verdict and filed leave to appeal, while the state appealed against the acquittal and cut off the sentences of 83 suspects in the High Court.
The demand for a reinvestigation gained traction under the interim government after a writ petition was filed in the Supreme Court in November.
Since the formation of the interim government, there was a strong demand for a re-investigation into the Pilkhana massacre. In response, the government formed a commission headed by ALM Fazlur Rahman on 24 December last year to re-investigate the carnage. The commission has been given 90 days time to submit its report.