Peelkhana carnage: HC upholds death sentence of 139 soldiers

The Bangladesh High Court has upheld the death penalty of 139 convicted soldiers involved in the 2009 mutiny and for brutally killing 74 people, including 57 army officers.

A three-member bench judge led by Justice Md. Shawkat Hossain gave the judgement on Monday upholding the capital punishment for 139 out of 152 convicted soldiers of then Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) . The court in its verdict awarded 146 others imprisonment for life. On February 25 and 26, 2009, the BDR soldiers attacked the people at its headquarters in Peelkhana in Dhaka.

The High Court observed that the conspiracy behind the violence was to destabilise the Sheikh Hasina-led government. BDR is the former name of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).

-ANI