Over 300 BDR members being freed on bail after 16yrs
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Over 300 members of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) are being freed on bail after 16 years in jails in an explosive case over the BDR carnage at Dhaka’s Pilkhana.
The prisoners started coming out of Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj and Kashimpur Central Jail in Gazipur on Thursday morning, reports UNB.
Of them, 178 BDR members are set to be freed from Dhaka Central Jail and 126 from Kashimpur Central Jail.
Earlier on Sunday, Judge of Dhaka Special Tribunal-1 Md Ibrahim Mia granted the bail to the BDR members in the explosive case.
The court was set up temporarily inside the Dhaka Central Jail.
On Tuesday, the jail authorities disclosed the list of the convicts who secured bail.
The necessary documents for the bail were sent to both jails on Wednesday.
After completing legal procedures, the Dhaka Central Jail authority started releasing 178 prisoners. The rest will be freed later, said jailer AKM Masud.
The authority of Kashimpur Central Jail has released 38 inmates till 1am on Thursday.
Relatives of the freed BDR members were receiving them with flowers and feeding them sweetmeats at the jail gates.
Many were seen breaking down in tears after meeting their dear and near one.
Earlier, Senior Jail Superintendent Abdullah Al Mamun told Dhaka Tribune that the individuals were released around 10:30am after completing the required documentation.
“They were freed as there were no other arrest warrants against them. They exited through the main gate, where their family members, who had been waiting since morning, received them with great joy,” he said.
This marks an emotional reunion for the families of these men, who spent 16 years behind bars.
On Sunday, Dhaka's Special Tribunal-1, presided over by Judge Ibrahim Mia, granted bail to 200 individuals acquitted in the Pilkhana murder case who had no appeals pending against them. The tribunal held its temporary session inside Keraniganj Central Jail to expedite the bail hearing.
The Pilkhana massacre of February 2009 resulted in the deaths of 74 people, including 57 army officers.
The case, one of the largest in the country’s legal history, has seen several judgments, appeals, and subsequent legal proceedings involving both murder and explosives charges.