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Bangladesh Rifles revolt

2000s coups d'état2009 in Dhaka2009 mass murders2009 murders in Bangladesh2010s trials
21st-century mass murders in BangladeshAttacks on military headquartersAttacks on military installations in 2009Attacks on military installations in BangladeshAttacks on residential buildings in BangladeshAttacks on theatresAwami League scandalsBorder Guard BangladeshConflicts in 2009February 2009 in BangladeshHistory of Bangladesh (1971–present)Hostage taking in BangladeshLooting in BangladeshMarch 2009 in BangladeshMilitary coups in BangladeshMutiniesPremiership of Sheikh HasinaTorture in BangladeshTrials in Bangladesh
Type 69 IIMk.2g
Type 69 IIMk.2g

The Bangladesh Rifles revolt, also known as the Pilkhana massacre or Pilkhana tragedy, was a mutiny that took place on 25–26 February 2009 in Dhaka, when a group of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) personnel seized the force’s headquarters in Pilkhana. The mutineers killed Director General Shakil Ahmed, 56 other army officers and 17 civilians, fired on bystanders, held officers and their families hostage, and looted and vandalised property. Unrest later spread to several other cities before the rebels surrendered following negotiations with the government. In 2013, a Dhaka court convicted hundreds of accused BDR personnel in what international human rights organisations criticised as an unfair mass trial. On 23 December 2024, the Ministry of Home Affairs established a seven-member commission to re-investigate the incident, which reported in November 2025 that the mutiny had been a planned operation rather than a spontaneous uprising, alleging involvement of senior Awami League figures, including incumbent Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and flagging evidence destruction and gaps in the original probe.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Bangladesh Rifles revolt (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Bangladesh Rifles revolt
Dhaka Pilkhana

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N 23.7343504 ° E 90.3777087 °
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1209 Dhaka, Pilkhana
Dhaka Division, Bangladesh
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Type 69 IIMk.2g
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Nilkhet
Nilkhet

Nilkhet (নীলক্ষেত) is a neighbourhood in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. It is located between Dhaka University to the east, Mirpur Road and New Market to the west, and Elephant Road to the north. The name Nilkhet (nil: blue or indigo, khet: field) implies that the area may have been used for indigo cultivation in earlier times. However, Nilkhet has a completely different identity today. The market has long been the center of the second-hand book trade in Dhaka. It contains several dozen shops that deal in used books and magazines, especially English-language material published in the West. The Nilkhet is regularly patronized by the city's English-language readers, who go there in search of foreign books, journals and comics that are either unavailable elsewhere or only available new at a prohibitive price. Thousands of people regularly visit Nilkhet book stores to find out their daily necessary books. Because of its proximity to Dhaka University, Dhaka Medical College and BUET, as well as several major colleges such as Dhaka College, Eden College and College of Home Economics the Nilkhet market has also become a major source of academic material for the city's students. Textbooks of all levels (from primary to tertiary) and for all disciplines may be purchased at Nilkhet. It also has many shops that provide auxiliary services for students, such as photocopying, word-processing and book-binding. Indeed, “photocopying at Nilkhet” is a common rite of passage for nearly all students of nearby universities during their undergraduate and postgraduate years.