The nation with a heavy heart is observing the 7th anniversary of the BDR carnage on Thursday, commemorating the atrocious killing of 74 people, including 57 army officials, in BDR (now Border Guard Bangladesh) headquarters at Pilkhana in Dhaka in 2009.

Relatives of the martyrs, government high-ups and Border Guard Bangladesh and army officials paid tributes to the martyrs by placing wreaths at their graves at Banani Graveyard in the city.

To mark the day, special prayers will be offered in all mosques in all regions, sectors, institutions and units of the BGB and at its Pilkhana headquarters and BOPs, seeking divine blessings for the departed souls.

Besides, a doa and milad mahfil will be held at Fazlur Rahman Khandaker Auditorium at Pilkhana BGB headquarters at 4:45 pm on Friday.

On February 25, 2009, hundreds of Bangladesh Rifles (now BGB) men rose up in armed revolt at Darbar Hall during the three-day ‘BDR Week’ inside the Pilkhana headquarters and killed 74 people, including 57 deputed army officers.

The mutiny finally ended the next day (Feb 26) with the surrender of the firearms and grenades through negotiation between the government and the BDR rebels.

After the mutiny, BDR was renamed Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and 58 cases were filed -- one for serious crimes, including murder and looting, and the rest for mutiny.

Some 152 people were sentenced to death and 423 others to different jail terms and 277 others acquitted in the country's largest-ever killing case.

Among the convicts, 161 people, including late BNP leader Nasiruddin Ahmed Pintu and local Awami League leader Torab Ali, were sentenced to life term imprisonment while 262 others to different jail terms starting from three months to 19 years.

On the other hand, a total of 5,926 BDR personnel were sentenced to different jail terms ranging from four months to seven years in the 57 mutiny cases.

UNB/TF