Politicians found to be involved in Pilkhana carnage: Inquiry Commission

The National Independent Inquiry Commission has found involvement of the then political leaders in the horrifying Pilkhana carnage that took place on 25–26 February 2009.

Chairman of the National Independent Inquiry Commission, Major General (Retd) ALM Fazlur Rahman, made the comment at a press conference held at the new building of the Science Laboratory in the capital on Wednesday (June 25).

Fazlur said, “The Inquiry Commission has found involvement of the then political leaders in the Pilkhana carnage. However, I cannot mention anyone’s name at this moment for the sake of investigation.”

He said that both the then armed forces command and law enforcement agencies failed to take timely decisions and remained inactive while the crimes were being committed.

“No effective measures were taken to prevent the mutiny and the killings. Available information so far indicates gross negligence and failure on the part of the intelligence agencies,” he said.

Regarding the progress in the investigation, Fazlur said the commission has interviewed 158 individuals, including military and civilian officials as well as political figures. Testimonies from around 50 more people are still pending.

A preliminary draft of the investigation report has already been prepared and is currently under review by the commission’s members.