2009 Bangladesh Rifles Revolt - Third Day

Third Day

The Army rolls in.The situation was still unclear. Rebels at Pilkhana had given up their arms. Large force of army made the rebels anxious and lot of them had fled. Heavy weapons were enough to make the rebels feel frightened.

On 27 February, about 200 mutineers were arrested while trying to escape from their headquarters at Pilkhana in civilian outfits. Army tanks and troops entered the headquarters of the BDR. Home minister Sahara Khatun had assured that the army had entered under the supervision of the Home Ministry. She also said that the BDR personnel were kept at a safer place inside the headquarters and the army had entered to help with the rescue and search operations. Bangladesh Army tanks rolled throughout Dhaka in a show of force, which persuaded the remaining mutineers to lay down their arms and surrender. It was still unclear whether the mutiny has been aborted in at least 12 BDR bases outside of Dhaka. As searching for the missing personnel continued inside the headquarters, 42 more bodies were found and it was thought that more than 130 regular army officers were killed by the rebels. As of 27 February, the official death toll has risen to 54. The body of BDR chief Major General Shakil Ahmed was also found among 41 other army officials. A mass grave was found inside,near the BDR hospital. 42 Officers were found buried inside a seven foot deep hole. Some officers body was thrown in drain tunnels. In this three days rebels had killed any officers they could find. Out of 58 bodies that were found, 52 of them were army officials. Starting from 27 February, the government declared a three day national mourning.