Published: 11:59 PM, 10 September 2026
Personnel sacked over BDR mutiny can't be reinstated: Home Minister
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has told Parliament that there is no scope for reinstating the 8,796 members of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) who were dismissed from service or sent into compulsory retirement following the BDR mutiny and massacre.
Following the 2009 occurrence, 6,286 members were dismissed from service and 2,510 were sent into compulsory retirement.
The Home Minister said that the guilty had been punished by following due legal procedures and that no innocent BDR member had been dismissed. Therefore, there is no scope for reinstating those who were dismissed, he said.
He made the remarks on Thursday in response to a question from Md. Abdul Waresh, a Member of Parliament from Gaibandha-5, during the question-and-answer session in Parliament.
The questions and answers were presented at the table under the chairmanship of Deputy Speaker Kaisar Kamal.
The Home Minister said that there is also no scope for reinstating dismissed BDR members who were accused in murder and explosives cases.
After the Awami League government was ousted following the 2024 mass uprising, dismissed BDR members demanded reinstatement in service, along with compensation, during the tenure of the interim government. They also took to the streets in the capital at the time.
They claimed that they had been dismissed from service after becoming victims of a "conspiracy" in 2009.
On February 25 and 26, 2009, just two months after the Awami League government assumed office, a mutiny broke out at the headquarters of the country's border security force in Pilkhana, Dhaka. The incident left 74 people dead, including 57 army officers, and sent shockwaves both across the country and internationally.
Following the mutiny, the Border Guards Bangladesh (BDR) was renamed and its uniforms were changed. The force is now known as Border Guard Bangladesh, or BGB.
The mutiny was tried in BGB's own tribunal, while the killings were prosecuted in the regular courts. In addition to prison sentences and other punishments in those cases, many people lost their jobs for their alleged involvement in the incident.
After the change of government and the interim administration taking office, calls for a fresh investigation into the BDR mutiny grew stronger. The matter was also taken to court. Later, in December last year, the government formed a National Independent Investigation Commission to look into the incident.
During the interim government's tenure, a number of BDR members who had been imprisoned were released on bail in several phases. Meanwhile, the then-dismissed BDR members and their family members have continued their protests and campaign for justice.
>>Agency
