BDR Carnage Case
'Shot, stabbed with bayonets'
Army officer narrates finding younger brother's body riddled with wounds
An army officer yesterday narrated the condition of the body of his younger brother, Major Syed Md Idris Iqbal, as it was found after the mutiny in the Pilkhana Headquarters of the then Bangladesh Rifles (BDR).
“I found bloody wounds on different parts of his body. I think he died after being shot and stabbed with bayonets,” said Major Syed Md Yousuf Iqbal.
Major Yousuf was giving his testimony in a carnage case before a Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court set up temporarily at the playground of Alia Madrasa of the capital's Bakshibazar.
The body of Major Idris, alongside that of nine others, was unearthed from a mass grave on a playground behind the MT Barrack on February 28, 2009, two days after the February 25-26 mutiny ended.
The body of Naznin Shakil Shipu, wife of the slain BDR chief Maj Gen Shakil Ahmed, was also recovered from the grave. The bodies of many officers were found stripped of their clothes, he added.
On February 25, 2009, Major Yousuf was inside the office of Major Mahmudul Hasan, one of the 57 army officers killed in the mutiny, in Pilkhana, assigned with the duty to confirm the arrival of VIPs in the Darbar that day.
Major Idris was called from 30 Rifle Battalion of Khagrachhari to be the commander of the flag carrying contingent that day.
“At about 9:30am, my brother told me over phone that firing had begun at the Darbar Hall. He also told me that BDR members shot DG Maj Gen Shakil Ahmed,” said Major Yousuf.
It was the last time they talked, he added. Major Yousuf hid under a table of the office and came out after the mutiny ended.
Five other prosecution witnesses, including an army officer, yesterday gave their depositions and were cross-examined by the defence. The court was adjourned till April 16.
A total 74 people were killed in the mutiny.
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