The head of the investigation commission, Major General (Retd.) A L M Fazlur Rahman, along with the other members, submitted the report to Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at the state guest house Jamuna on Sunday. The information was later disclosed in a press release from the Chief Adviser’s Press Wing. The other members of the commission are Major General Md. Jahangir Kabir Talukder (Retd.), Brigadier General Md. Saidur Rahman, Bir Protik (Retd.), Joint Secretary (Retd.) Munshi Alauddin Al Azad, DIG (Retd.) Dr. M. Akbar Ali, Associate Professor Md. Shariful Islam of the Department of Political Science at the University of Dhaka, and Assistant Professor Md. Shahnewaz Khan Chandon of the Institute of Education and Research at Jagannath University.
In the press release, the Press Wing stated that the Chief Adviser said, “For a long time, the nation had been in the dark about the BDR massacre. The role you have played in uncovering the truth will be remembered by the nation. On behalf of the nation, I thank you. There were many questions among the people regarding this horrific incident in our history; through this work, those questions will come to an end. This report contains many lessons. It will remain a valuable asset for the nation.”
Commission chief Fazlur Rahman said, “To ensure that the investigation was fair, impartial, and error-free, the highest level of professionalism was maintained. When we began our work, much of the evidence from this incident that occurred 16 years earlier had already been destroyed. Many of those involved in the incident had left the country.”
He said, “We went through two processes. We called witnesses and, in some cases, listened to their statements for up to eight hours—however long they wanted to speak. We also spoke with those who were involved in previous investigations, collected their reports, and gathered other relevant elements. Through this investigation, we sought answers to every question the public had about the BDR massacre. We tried to uncover what role each person played. Why did the army remain standing by and not take action?”
Fazlur Rahman said, “The investigation has found strong evidence of direct involvement by foreign powers in the BDR massacre, as well as direct involvement of the then ruling party, the Awami League.”
Regarding the commission’s findings, Jahangir Kabir Talukder said, “The commission has identified several external and actual reasons behind the incident. The massacre was planned, and the main coordinator behind it was the then Member of Parliament Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh.”
He said that the local Awami League directly played a role in protecting those involved in the killings. They entered Pilkhana with a procession of 20–25 people, and by the time they came out, the procession had grown to over two hundred. According to him, the entire incident took place with the ‘green signal’ of the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Regarding determining responsibility, he said, “The responsibility lies from the then head of government to the army chief. A political decision was made to resolve the incident. The police, RAB, and intelligence agencies also showed extreme failure. Some print and electronic media and several journalists acted unprofessionally during the incident.”
He added that the BDR members who met Sheikh Hasina at the state guesthouse Jamuna (the then Prime Minister’s residence) during the incident were not properly identified, and their names and details were not documented.
The commission made several recommendations in its report to prevent such incidents in the armed forces in the future and to ensure justice for the victims of this tragedy.
Among others present at the meeting were National Security Adviser Dr. Khalilur Rahman, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser on Defense and National Integration, retired Lieutenant General Abdul Hafiz, and Home Secretary Nasimul Gani.
