Case book nearly ready:Daily Star

The High Court may start hearing on death references and appeals in the BDR carnage case in a month, as the court authorities have already prepared the paper-book of the case. The enormous book contains around 47,000 pages. A paper-book contains all the details of a case, trial proceedings, statements, evidence, verdicts and other documents. The book is necessary for the HC to hear and dispose of
a death reference or an appeal. Now, the authorities will initially print at least 33 copies of the paper-book. These copies then will be served to the court, judges and lawyers concerned of the biggest-ever criminal case in the country's history in terms of the number of accused and convicts. The copies are expected to be ready in a few weeks, acting Supreme Court registrar SM Kuddus Zaman told The Daily Star yesterday. The paper-book copies will then be placed before the HC for hearing the death references and appeals, he said. For easy handling, the enormous paper-book will be published in 47 volumes, he added. At least 250 more copies may have to be produced for the appellants if the HC orders so, said an SC official involved in the production of the paper-book. He wished anonymity. Advertisement A total of 257 convicts have appealed to the HC challenging their convictions and sentences, he said. Three digital printing machines and a binding machine have been brought from Japan at a cost of Tk 32 lakh for preparing the paper-book copies, as Chief Justice Md Muzammel Hossain has given priority to quick disposal of the appeals. A Dhaka court on November 5 last year awarded death penalty to 150 soldiers of the erstwhile Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and two civilians, and sentenced 161 others to life imprisonment for their roles and involvement in the carnage. It also handed down rigorous imprisonment, ranging from three to 10 years, to another 256 people, mostly BDR soldiers. A total of 846 people, 823 of them BDR members, stood the trial. The remaining 277 accused were acquitted. Seventy-four people, including 57 army officials, were slain in the BDR mutiny on February 25-26 in 2009 at the Pilkhana headquarters in Dhaka. The paramilitary force was later renamed Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).