The BDR Mutiny and Massacre – the Unanswered Questions

A year has passed since the sad tragedy of February 25 at Peel Khana happened. People are still without satisfactory answers to fully understand who were behind the cold-blooded killings of 57 Army officers that were on deputation to the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and why.

The government preliminary inquiry reports were slow in coming and not too satisfactory to quench their thirst. Many folks can’t accept the inquiry report suggesting that the crime was “pre-planned” and yet without involvement of any political party, and that only two politicians - Awami League (AL) leader Torab Ali and BNP leader Nasiruddin Ahmed Pintu – had known about the deadly conspiracy. They allege a massive government “cover-up” with the inquiry report. Not surprisingly, conspiracy theories are not short in supply.

In recent days, I came across a couple of papers, thanks to a Bangladesh-centric website, discussing why and how this tragedy unfolded. These papers don’t mention any author but claim to be based on personal inquiry of a retired Army officer. The information is fascinating, almost incredibly mind-boggling, which many would dump as part of a ‘conspiracy’ theory. At best, they appeared to be based on hearsays; at worst, concocted to harm the current government’s image.

No credible evidence or reference was provided to substantiate much of the accusations. However, if the information contained therein is true, it portrays a very damning, and almost an evil and sinister, image of a government that plotted to destroy its own forces. And worse still, it succeeded in killing 57 brilliant officers. In that plot, even the prime minister and her son, the Home Ministry, several MPs (members of the parliament) of the ruling party, few army officers and the BDR mutineers conspired with the (Indian) RAW to bring about the BDR carnage where some co-conspirators were even used as liabilities, sacrificial lambs or pawns, willingly or unwillingly! Simply inexcusable and gravest of the crimes imaginable for any government to commit! To most readers, therefore, the plot would sound as eerie and sinister as 9/11 when Bush Jr. is accused of planning it. Simply stupefying!

After reading both the papers, I remain skeptical since I hate to believe the worst in a democratic government that had won election in a land-slide victory. Why would it conspire against a segment of its own armed forces to kill many of its brilliant officers? The claim sounds rather bizarre when one is reminded by the authors that the election win of the AL in the last election itself was stage-managed by the Army Chief Gen. Moeen U. Ahmed and the DGFI. With those high-ranking generals on its side, was it that difficult for the new government to purge the so-called Islamists from the Army, or the BDR? The answer has to be an emphatic: no. Such conspiracy scenarios can happen with a fascist regime, but not in a democracy – even in an imperfect one - an illiberal democracy like Bangladesh.

Having personally met Sk. Hasina in an informal gathering in NY City I have difficulty believing that “PM herself gave the final nod for eliminating DG, his wife and Colonel Mujib before one week of the deadly mutiny.” How credible is this piece of allegation? It is difficult to imagine the daughter of a slain president who lost dozens of her loved ones on August 15, 1975 to approve such an evil plot. Only a monster, devoid of any human goodness, can approve such a sinister plan! Is Sheikh Hasina that kind of a cold-blooded murderer? I can’t imagine.

We are told by the authors that this extermination plan was part of Plan B, the covert plan with RAW’s involvement, which was known to PM, her cousin and Taposh’s uncle Sheikh Selim MP and Abdul Jalil MP, besides Nanak, Taposh, Sohel Taj, Mirza Azam, Haji Selim, Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir and a few other members of the PM’s inner circle. We are further told that PM’s son Sajeeb Wazed (Joy) was the architect of the conspiracy who had previously accused the armed forces of “recruiting thousands of Muslim fundamentalist terrorists.” What Joy actually wrote is: “By 2006, at the end of the BNP’s reign, madrassas supplied nearly 35 percent of the Army recruits. In a country that has seen four military coup d’etats in its short 37 year history, the astronomical growth of Islamists in the military is troubling to say the least.” (Stemming the Rise of Islamic Extremism in Bangladesh by Sajeeb Wazed and Carl Ciovacco, Harvard International Review) While he could be blamed for exaggerating those recruitment numbers within the Army, it is silly to believe that this HIR paper had seeded the conspiracy plan. Let’s review this accusation against what he truly wrote.

In his HIR paper, Joy stated: “As the country was founded on a secular system of governance, the entire political system is now vulnerable.” He asks, “Can the Awami League stop the growing tide of Islamism in a country that has seen the sale of burkas rise nearly 500 percent in the last five years? The answer is yes if it implements the following secular renewal plan.” To elaborate this renewal of the secular plan, he suggested: “First, it (government) must modernize the curriculum of the madrasses. Second, it must build proper, secular elementary schools and hospitals. Third, it should increase the recruitment of secular-minded students into the military from secular cadet academies. Fourth, it must attempt to rehabilitate known extremist clerics. Lastly, and perhaps the most abstract solution, it must push to vanquish Bangladeshi poverty and illiteracy that consistently ranks among the worst in the world. This plan would make the country less hospitable to a growing Islamist movement and help return Bangladesh to its secular roots.”

As can be seen from the above citation, this HIR paper, a flawed one in the estimate of some, could not have become either the justification or the blueprint for the BDR carnage. [Soon after its publication, I wrote a critique of the HIR paper, which was posted in the Weekly Holiday in Bangladesh (February 6, 2009) and the Internet.] Those slain officers had no connection with the so-called Islamist terrorists. As a matter of fact some of them were at the forefront of capturing such criminals. Surely killing those officers was not the way of ‘revamping’ the Armed Forces “in order to rescue the nation,” as being alleged by the authors.

It is true that in his many TV appearances the quick-tongued Minister Faruq Khan tried to blame the so-called Islamists, probably parroting Joy’s line, as being the culprits. However, subsequent police inquiries have shown the utter hollowness of such claims. If the government, as alleged, was that bent on purging the so-called Islamists within the Armed Forces why the same government failed to pinpoint the blame on the so-called Islamist groups like the Jamat, JMB, etc. in its report? The Government Report instead showed that there was no connection with those suspected elements. As we can see, there was no witch-hunting with the “Islamists”! Moreover, according to the rules governing the Army, it’s not difficult to force retire any officer, if the government had decided to do so. Why kill them, if they were suspected of promoting so-called Islamism, when better and safer alternatives were available?

We are told that the BDR-carnage was a RAW-inspired crime with some foreign and local players and sponsors in which “RAW pumped in about Rs 60 crore for the entire operation,” and “about 15 foreign gunmen were hired for the execution of the army officers.” The major goal was to deprive Bangladesh of its patriotic Army officers who were not afraid to stand up against a hegemonic power like India. Thus, one clear objective of the plan was to teach a lesson to our brave Army officers that events like Roumari (April 2001) where 150 BSF personnel were killed for raiding a BDR camp inside Bangladesh territory would not be tolerated by India. We are also told that the motivation for some local conspirators, which included Mirza Azam, Haji Salim, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Fazle Noor Taposh and Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir, was pure revenge (presumably they hated the Army). How credible are such claims?

One paper claimed: “Tk 15-17 crore was distributed in Peelkhana between early and late February. Tk 4 lac was fixed per officer's head and the total money was redistributed. The killer group of BDR, who were fixed before, had a much larger payment. The distribution of money for Plan A participants was mainly through the connections of Fazle Noor Taposh, and the payment for the DADs and the main killer group was handled by Nanak. Payment for the hired killers was arranged by Sohel Taj and Joy, some advance made in Hotel Bab-Al-Shams in Dubai earlier.” We are further told, “And as the mutilated bodies of martyred officers were being removed from the mass grave, Mr Joy was handing over payment to a few foreign and a few BDR killers in Dubai.” These are no small charges, esp. against both Sohel and Joy! Unfortunately, the reader is left without any credible reference to check the veracity of such serious charges. The reader is at a loss to understand why the conspirators needed outside players if the DAD Towhid and many of his rank and file were on board with the conspiracy to kill those Army officers. For the right kind of money, those rogue elements within the BDR were enough to kill those unfortunate souls.

We are told that of the hired foreign gunmen “a few of them entered through the Benapole border on 21st February." These papers further claimed, “Sohel Taj was given the responsibility to ensure safe return of the killers to Middle-east, London and USA. It was decided that BG flight 049 would be used, if require it will be delayed to ensure safe exit of the foreign killers." Question is: if the killers came from the Benapole border on the eve of February 21, why do they need to be sent outside India, to places like Middle East, UK and USA? After all, it is easier to send them back to India than to far away places.

During the BDR carnage, all media reports said that Sohel Taj was outside the country. However, these two papers contradict such information: "But we confirm that Taj didn't go to USA, rather he first visited India. As known by the entire nation, Taj was in USA during 25th-26th February. This is a blunt lie and bluff. He was at Dhaka at that time. On 28th February he was flown to Sylhet by an Army Aviation Helicopter in the evening and the same night he left for abroad by plane from Osmani Airport.” Again, I have difficulty placing the son of (late) Tajuddin Ahmed – Bangladesh’s first Prime Minister -- as a calculating cold-blooded murderer.

To most readers, those two almost identical papers would be viewed, rightly or wrongly, as parts of a malicious campaign to smear the Hasina administration. To some, they would be treated as dirty, hard facts. Flawed as these two papers are with some exaggerations, false information, innuendos and unsubstantiated claims and allegations, not all the charges against the alleged conspirators can be swept away though. However, the burden of proof lies with the accusers and not defendants, which is missing in these two papers. These papers provide plenty of ammunitions in the hands of anyone who is opposed to the current government. They will remain skeptical about the government side of the explanation for one of the most gruesome massacres in Bangladesh’s history. Surely, the distressing situation inside Bangladesh galvanizes their mistrust of the government.

In the post-2/25 period, it is disheartening to see some of the most patriotic Army officers either sidelined or retired. The situation around the border with almost daily killings of Bangladeshi civilians has not improved an iota. India, perceived by most Bangladeshis as a hegemonic power, is seen as an advisor today on how our BDR – the frontline defense force - should be organized, thus compromising our very national security. Such an arrangement is unacceptable and the Hasina administration is seen as a puppet of India. The recently concluded treaty between Sk. Hasina and Manmohan Singh is viewed by many as having benefited India more than Bangladesh. At least, these are unkind perceptions. Since perception often makes to formulate our reality, unless, the current government pays heed to correct such perceptions, right or wrong, it will lose the popular support it needs to remain in power.

We are told that the government investigation on the BDR carnage is at its final stage with some 7,974 persons, including BDR men, their relatives, Ministers, MPs, victims and their family members, police, RAB, army, newsmen and local residents, interrogated. Nearly 2,205 persons, mostly BDR jawans, have been arrested. Of them, 523 BDR men gave their confessional statements to the Magistrates under Section 164 of CrPC. Some 900 people will be charge sheeted. One can only pray and hope that the truth will come out of this investigation process, thus putting a lid to any conspiracy theory.

A special inquiry may be a good idea to probe the allegations brought against some of the politicians mentioned in these two papers, failing which, no matter how innocent they may be, suspicion against their involvement will always hang over their heads. They need it for their own sake.

People’s expectations are that the culprits will be found and punished while the innocents will be spared. Is Hasina government capable of delivering a clean and transparent judicial process where nothing but the truth will come out, no matter how unpleasant such may be?

- Asian Tribune -