Mutilated body of BDR DG found among 38 other officers in small ditch; death toll stands at 62; houses of many officers looted, ransacked
The
softer side of a soldier is seen at BDR Gate-4 near Jigatola yesterday
after hearing about 39 bodies of BDR officers being found.Photo: Shawkat
JamilWith three more bodies pulled out of manholes, fatalities in the 33-hour bloody mutiny at BDR Pilkhana rose to 62. Those include around 50 army officers.
Of those retrieved dead, 18 were too badly decomposed to be identified immediately.
As of filing this report last night, rescuers were yet to trace at least 50 officers and late BDR chief Major General Shakil Ahmed�s wife, said sources.
Meanwhile, Brigadier General Moinul Hossain was appointed DG of the embattled force yesterday. He faces the task of reorganising BDR and restoring its chain of command.
The sheer scale of savagery the mass grave brought to light yesterday left the nation numb with grief.
Rescuers fear there might be more unmarked mass graves at Pilkhana.
"We can tell from the bodies many of the officials were first shot and then bayoneted to death," said Major Momtajur Rahman of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab).
Major General Shakil Ahmed�s corpse was pitted with bullet holes and marks of bayonet charge.
Many of the bodies were in briefs as uniforms of the officers littered the lawn inside BDR HQ.
The mass grave is behind the mortuary of BDR Hospital. It is around a kilometre off darbar hall, where the bloody mutiny erupted at an assembly of BDR officials and jawans Wednesday morning.
"We have gathered that the bodies were carried there by two trucks," added Major Momtaj.
A group of heavily armed border troops led the acts of mindless violence.
They said they were only protesting discriminations. But now as the extent of brutalities emerges, rescuers say, it seems the bloodbath might have been instigated by "some unseen quarters with an ill motive".
They added that the atrocities remind them of the torture and genocide carried out by the Pakistan occupation army in 1971.
"Officers� houses were looted and their cars set on fire. The two-storey residence of the DG was left in ruins. The staircase there was stained with blood," said a rescuer who would not speak on record.
The mutineers ransacked and burned the house of slain Colonel Mujibul Haq.
"We suspect some of those missing were killed and reduced to ashes," he said citing information gleaned from some BDR jawans who opted to stay put after the revolt ended Thursday evening.
Around 300 jawans are now inside the headquarters. They claim they did not participate in the mutiny or any brutalities. "But they were forced to cooperate with the culprits," said the rescuer.
"They did not try to escape as they felt the army won�t do them any harm once things calm down," he added.
Another rescuer who had talked to one such "involuntary mutineer", told The Daily Star, "It seems there was a plan chalked out long ago. Those who committed the atrocities were young soldiers recruited in the last few years. They received huge sums from somewhere, and did not care much about their career."
The police took control of the BDR headquarters Thursday. The army and Rab entered the compound with armoured personnel carriers at 10:00am yesterday.
At around 12:30pm, army rescue squads recovered huge Arges grenades, machine guns and ammunition and a mortar from atop the arch at the main entrance.
Some rescuers said they found arms and ammunition scattered all over Pilkhana. They recovered arms even from ponds inside.
Arms were found just outside the headquarters as well. "We believe some mutineers have fled with small arms," said a rescuer.
All the arms recovered have been taken to the armoury.
Since early morning yesterday, people crowded the BDR gates and sites of rescue operation beyond the compound.
At the Jhigatala entrance, anxious relatives of the army personnel missing waited for hours with eyes brimming with tears. They kept enquiring if there was any news of their dear ones. Some of them resented the failure to save the family members.
Lt Col Sajjad�s wife was seen lying nearly unconscious on the pavement in front of the main gate at around 12:30pm. She kept mumbling, "They [authorities] must let me know if he is dead or alive."
Sajjad�s body was among those recovered from the mass grave at around 5:00pm.
Meanwhile, the unrest at BDR outposts in different districts quietened down yesterday. At Kurigram outpost, the jawans released three officers taken hostage Thursday and sent them to Rangpur cantonment.
