DHAKA, March 1: Bangladesh on Sunday prepared to deploy troops across the country to track down 1,000 soldiers wanted for a bloody mutiny which left at least 78 people dead and scores missing, mostly army officers.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told parliament she had summoned the army to begin ‘Operation Rebel Hunt’ to find those wanted for the 33-hour revolt in Dhaka, describing it as “completely pre-planned murder.”

She said some 668 members of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) were in custody and warrants had been issued for another 1,000 over the killings, which ended with dozens of mutilated bodies dumped in mass graves.

Sheikh Hasina said the army would be deployed from Monday. The prime minister said she was also seeking help from FBI agents and Britain’s Scotland Yard in the case.“I have had discussions with (US Assistant Secretary of State) Richard Boucher. I told him I want FBI assistance in the probe,” she said.

“I’d also like Scotland Yard to help us, and I have already sought UN support.”

Nabojit Khisa, a police station chief in Dhaka, said some of the men would be hanged if found guilty of masterminding the revolt, which finished on Thursday after Sheikh Hasina met a group of BDR troops and threatened to end it by force.

Six of those who met the premier are on the wanted list for the killing spree, which was reportedly triggered by long-standing complaints over pay and conditions.

Sheikh Hasina declared an amnesty for those who surrendered, but later said those who committed murder would be punished.

Earlier on Sunday at the BDR headquarters in Dhaka, where the mutiny took place, security forces and emergency relief teams dug up rose gardens in the search for 70 army officers who are still missing.

Most of the 78 bodies – many of them riddled with bullet wounds and gored by bayonets – were found in graves concealed under leaves and loose dirt. The BDR chief and his wife were among the dead.—AFP
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