Faruq Khan, a retired army lieutenant and present Commerce Minister of Bangladesh, said recently that investigators have uncovered involvement of the banned radical Islamist group, Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), in the Bangladesh Rifles' (BDR) mutiny on February 25 - 26, reports Xinhua news agency.
The Commerce Minister also coordinates all investigations into the deadly mutiny that killed more than 60 army officers and other persons. Following negotiations between the government and the mutineers, the involved BDR personnel surrendered in the evening of February 26.
First, the news came of a mutiny based on grievances of the lower ranks over their pay and benefits in this hard economic situation, later the news mentioned that mutineers executed their deadly plan in a premeditated manner. Some even suggested that some of the 1971 war criminals were indirectly involved in the mutiny.
The Third World View blog gave a good coverage of the different aspects, pro and con, of the event.
In the past, the JMB had campaigned for establishment of Sharia-based Islamic rule in Bangladesh. On August 17, 2005, it staged simultaneous bombings in the 63 of the 64 districts of the country whereby two persons were killed and 150 injured. Founded in 1998, the JMB follows the ideals of the Talibans in Afghanistan. Their bombings started in May, 2001 and spread to different districts. The government of Bangladesh banned this group after the 2005 bombings.
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