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New Delhi: In the neighbouring country, a violent mutiny by the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) resulted in the killings of 74 people, including dozens of senior army officers, in 2009.
Now, a commission created to probe the ghastly incident has claimed that the former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has been ousted from power by an uprising, herself ordered the mutiny, and alleged that India was involved in weakening the Bangladesh Army, according to news agency AFP. The commission was created by the chief of Bangladesh's interim government, Muhammad Yunus. The two-day mutiny in 2009 took place only weeks after Hasina returned to power.
The 78-year-old leader, who has been living in India since fleeing Dhaka last August, was recently sentenced to death in absentia by a special tribunal for alleged "crimes against humanity" stemming from her government's crackdown on student-led protests last year.
Sheikh Hasina, a prominent figure in Bangladeshi politics and leader of the Awami League, fled her home country on August 5 last year, amid massive unrest. The special tribunal in Dhaka, in its ruling, also handed a death sentence to her close aide and former home minister, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, on similar charges.
According to this commission, former MP Fazle Noor Taposh executed the mutiny ‘at Hasina's behest' who approved the killings. The commission's report on the mutiny said, "The involvement of a foreign force was strongly evident in the investigation."
The chief of the commission, Rahman, reportedly said, "The conspiracy aimed to weaken this force and destabilise Bangladesh. At that time, India sought to create instability while the then-government sought to extend its rule. After the BDR carnage took place, the government wanted to prolong its power, and the neighbouring country (India) wanted to destabilise Bangladesh."
He added, "Around 921 Indians came to the country during that time. The whereabouts of 67 of those Indians are unknown." On the other hand, Yunus commented, "Through the commission report, the truth has finally been revealed." India is yet to respond to the allegation and is reportedly examining an extradition request from Bangladesh's interim government for Hasina.
