Bangladesh Rifles revolt

Bangladesh Rifles revolt
Date 25 February 2009 — 2 March 2009 (6 days) Location Bangladesh Pilkhana, Dhaka Result Revolt unsuccessful Surrender of mutineers The mutineers were able to assassinate many high-ranking officers including Chief of the Bangladesh Rifles.
Belligerents
Bangladesh  Bangladesh Army Bangladesh Rifles Bangladesh Police Rapid Action Battalion	Bangladesh Rifles mutineers
Commanders and leaders
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina General Moeen U Ahmed Major General Ashab Uddin	Unknown
Strength
Unknown	1,200 mutineers
Casualties and losses
57 killed,[1] 6 missing[2]	8 killed,[2] 200 captured[3]
17 civilians killed[4]

This article is part of a series about Sheikh Hasina
Prime Minister of Bangladesh Incumbent Early life and education Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman First Premiership (1996–2001) Sharing the water of the Ganges Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord Bangladesh Telecommunication Act, 1996 Repeal of the Indemnity Act Ashrayan-1 D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation BIMSTEC 2001 Bangladesh–India border clashes Opposition Leader (2001–09) 2004 Dhaka grenade attack 2006–08 Bangladeshi political crisis Logi Boitha Movement Second Premiership (2009–present) Vision 2021 Bangladesh Rifles revolt Anti-Terrorism Act, 2009 2012 Rakhine State riots International Crimes Tribunal 2013 Shahbag protests 2013 Bangladesh violence Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act, 2013 Padma Bridge graft scandal Young Bangla Attacks by Islamic extremists in Bangladesh July 2016 Dhaka attack 2015 Bangladeshi political crisis Indo-Bangla land boundary agreement, 2015 COVID-19 pandemic Ashrayan-2 International trips Parties and Alliances Awami League Grand Alliance Elections 1986 1988 1991 February 1996 June 1996 2001 2008 2014 2018 2024 Ministries First ministry Second ministry Third ministry Fourth ministry Fifth ministry National Projects Bangabandhu Bridge Forces Goal 2030 Digital Bangladesh Padma Bridge Rampal Power Station Ganges Barrage Project Port of Payra Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant Purbachal New Town Sheikh Hasina International Cricket Stadium Bangabandhu-1 Dhaka Metro Rail Matarbari Port Gallery: Picture, Sound, Video
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The Bangladesh Rifles revolt (also referred to as the Pilkhana tragedy) was a mutiny staged on 25 and 26 February 2009 in Dhaka by a section of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), a paramilitary force mainly tasked with guarding the borders of Bangladesh. The rebelling BDR soldiers took over the BDR headquarters in Pilkhana, killing BDR director-general Shakil Ahmed along with 56 other army officers and 17 civilians. They also fired on civilians, held many of their officers and their families hostage, vandalised property and looted valuables.^[5] By the second day, unrest had spread to 12 other towns and cities.^[6][7] The mutiny ended as the mutineers surrendered their arms and released the hostages^[8] after a series of discussions and negotiations with the government.^[9] Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who returned to office less than two months before the revolt, was widely praised domestically and internationally for her handling of the mutiny. However some criticised her for not ordering an armed raid of the BDR Rifles compound. The Daily Star commended "her sagacious handling of the situation which resulted in the prevention of a further bloodbath".^[10][11][12]

On 5 November 2013, Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Court sentenced 152 people to death and 161 to life imprisonment; another 256 people received sentences between three and ten years for their involvement in the mutiny. The court also acquitted 277 people who had been charged. The trials have been condemned as unfair mass trials without timely access to lawyers and "seem designed to satisfy a desire for cruel revenge", as charged by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights.^[13][14]