DHAKA: A commission set up to investigate a violent mutiny that saw dozens of senior army officers massacred 16 years ago on Sunday said former premier Sheikh Hasina had ordered the killings.
Rampaging troops from the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) murdered 74 people, including military officers, during the two-day revolt that began in Dhaka and spread across the country in 2009, destabilising the government of then-premier Hasina weeks after she took office.
After Hasina was ousted last year following a student-led uprising, the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus formed a commission to investigate the incident.
Hasina, 78, has since sought refuge in India, defying court orders that she return to Bangladesh. According to the commission´s report submitted on Sunday, the then-Awami League government led by Hasina was directly involved in the mutiny.
Former member of parliament Fazle Noor Taposh acted as the “principal coordinator” and at the behest of Hasina who gave the “green signal” to carry out the killings, the government´s press office said, quoting the commission chief, A.L.M. Fazlur Rahman.
“The involvement of a foreign force was strongly evident in the investigation,” the statement added.
At a news conference later in the day, Rahman accused India of trying to destabilise the country and “weaken the Bangladesh Army” following the carnage.
