India’s support for Hasina has strained relations between the two countries since her fall.
DHAKA: A panel set up to investigate a violent mutiny that resulted in the execution of dozens of senior army officers 16 years ago said on Sunday that former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ordered the killings.
During the two-day revolt that began in Dhaka and spread across the country in 2009, advancing troops from the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) murdered 74 people, including military officers, destabilizing then-Prime Minister Hasina’s government just weeks after she took office.
After Hasina was deposed last year following a student-led rebellion, the interim administration, led by Muhammad Yunus, established a committee to investigate the incident.
Hasina, 78, has now found asylum in India, defying court orders to return to Bangladesh.
According to the commission’s assessment, the then-Awami League government lead by Hasina had a direct role in the rebellion.
Former parliamentarian Fazle Noor Taposh served as the “principal coordinator” and was instructed by Hasina to carry out the assassinations, according to the government’s press office, citing commission chief A.L.M. Fazlur Rahman.
“The involvement of a foreign force was strongly evident in the investigation,” the statement continued.
At a later press conference, Rahman accused India of attempting to destabilize the country and “weaken the Bangladesh Army” in the aftermath of the carnage.
“There had been a conspiracy brewing for a long time to weaken Bangladesh’s forces,” Rahman said the crowd.
There was no quick response from India to the allegations.
India’s support for Hasina has strained relations between the two countries since her fall.
Yunus hailed the commission’s conclusions, claiming that the nation has long been in the dark about the reasons for the 2009 deaths.
“Through the commission report, the truth has finally been revealed,” he told me.
A previous study into the mutiny blamed years of pent-up rage among troops who believed their demands for wage raises and better treatment were neglected.
However, the investigation was conducted during Hasina’s reign, and her opponents accused her of orchestrating the rebellion in order to weaken the military and strengthen her own position.