DHAKA: A commission investigating the violent 2009 mutiny by the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) claimed on Sunday that former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had ordered the killings of dozens of senior army officers.
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The revolt, which erupted in Dhaka and spread nationwide, resulted in the deaths of 74 people, including military officers, destabilising Hasina’s government just weeks after she took office.
The commission, formed by the interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus after Hasina’s ouster last year, concluded that the Awami League-led government under Hasina directly coordinated the mutiny. Former MP Fazle Noor Taposh was identified as the “principal coordinator,” allegedly acting under Hasina’s directive, the report stated.
A Conspiracy to Undermine the BDR Mutiny Trial— A Commission of the @Yunus_Centre Administration Allegedly Influenced by @BJI_Official’s Financial Interests
————The 2009 BDR mutiny stands as one of the most tragic chapters in #Bangladesh’s history—an event in which a brutal… pic.twitter.com/4m1XFB56Jl
— Istiak Ahmmad (@istiak_ahmmad) November 30, 2025
The commission also accused India of involvement, claiming foreign forces aimed to destabilise Bangladesh and weaken its military. “There had been a conspiracy brewing for a long time to weaken Bangladesh’s forces,” said commission chief A.L.M. Fazlur Rahman. India has yet to respond to the allegations.
Yunus welcomed the findings, saying, “Through the commission report, the truth has finally been revealed,” while a prior investigation had blamed the unrest on soldiers’ grievances over pay and treatment. Political rivals of Hasina had long suspected her involvement in a plot to weaken the military for political advantage.
Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia remains in critical condition in a Dhaka hospital due to a severe chest infection affecting her heart and lungs. Her son and acting party chief, Tarique Rahman, who has been in self-exile in London, said his return to Bangladesh is “not entirely” in his control. The interim government has stated it will issue a travel pass if he wishes to return, following his acquittal in all pending cases since Hasina’s ouster.
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The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by Khaleda and Tarique, has gained political momentum since the interim government took office last year and is emerging as a key player in the country’s shifting political landscape.