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| Bangladesh |
| Around 50 officers still missing |
| 2009-03-01 |
| Three days into the end of mutiny at BDR headquarters, rescuers could not yet trace some 50 army officers. They however discovered three more mass graves in the compound yesterday and recovered 10 bodies including that of the slain BDR chief Major General Shakil Ahmed's wife Naznin Shakil. As of last night, the body count was 72. Of those confirmed dead, 59 are army officials deputed to the paramilitary force. So far, 29 officers are found to have survived the bloodthirsty revolt by border guards. Meanwhile, the authorities could not yet say exactly how many army officers were at the headquarters when the mutiny erupted in darbar hall at around 9:00am. According to rescuers and army information centre at Pilkhana, the people who could provide the information have died or been missing. Rescuers said the registry book that is supposed to contain the number does not show anything about attendance at Wednesday's programme. Besides, it has become difficult to check back with 12 sectors and 46 battalions across the country as they are at present lacking officers who could cooperate with the capital. "It seems there might have been 138 army officers and 30 BDR officers at the Darbar Hall Wednesday," said a rescuer. As 29 army officers have come out alive and 59 have been found dead, it leaves 50 on the missing list. Colonel Gulzar Uddin Ahmed, who earned fame for his robust role as a Rab official in drives against militants, especially those of Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh, is among those still missing. He joined BDR in Sylhet early this month. Before being promoted as additional DG of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), he was in led the intelligence wing of the elite crime busters, and conducted some major investigations. He was in charge of the operation that netted JMB operations commander Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai. Gulzar's family drew a blank in their search for him among the bodies retrieved so far. In the last three days, his sister Dilruba Khatun and some other relatives have visited Mitford Hospital, Dhaka Medical Hospital morgue and the sewers coming off BDR headquarters for their beloved Gulzar. A shattered Dilruba yesterday said, "Several times we were told that his body had been found. But that didn't turn out true. None of the bodies recovered is my brother's. It pains me to think of how a man of his stature still remains untraced. He had discharged some very important responsibilities for the state. They should at least let us know if he is dead." It was soon after the madness set in Wednesday that Gulzar's friends at Rab heard from him last. In his first call at around 9:00am, he sought help for him and the other officers under attack. His last call came at around 10:00am. He said that he was "done" and told his friends to take care of his family. Meanwhile, rescuers said that besides ransacking the houses and properties of the army officers at Pilkhana, the mutineers vandalised the offices at BDR headquarters including that of the DG. It appears they fired at will inside these offices. |
| Posted by:Fred |