Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and several influential ministers and members of parliament of the then Awami League government are set to be named as accused in the 2009 Pilkhana BDR massacre and explosives cases.
Chief Public Prosecutor (Special PP) for the state Borhan Uddin confirmed the information to the media on Tuesday morning, saying steps are being taken to formally include the names following new findings that emerged during the ongoing trial proceedings.
He said that testimonies from a number of key witnesses have indicated alleged direct or indirect involvement of Sheikh Hasina, former mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation Fazle Noor Taposh, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Mirza Azam and others who served in the cabinet at the time.
According to the prosecutor, around 300 witnesses have so far testified out of approximately 1,200 listed in the explosives case. The case, filed under the Explosives Substances Act over the 25 February 2009 killings at Pilkhana, remains at the evidence-recording stage and includes nearly 850 accused.
Borhan Uddin also said that legal procedures are now underway to proceed against those newly identified, based on specific information that surfaced during witness depositions.
The Pilkhana uprising on 25-26 February 2009, which resulted in the deaths of 74 people, including 57 army officers, remains one of the country’s deadliest incidents. In a separate murder case filed over the carnage, the trial court delivered its verdict on 5 November 2013.
Following the political transition on 5 August last year, several hundred accused in the explosives case have been granted bail, while proceedings continue.
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