A Dhaka court has granted bail to 40 BDR jawans in a case filed under the Explosive Substances Act over the 2009 Pilkhana massacre.

Special Tribunal-2 Judge Md Ibrahim Mia passed the order on May 8, which was confirmed on Monday by Chief Prosecutor Borhan Uddin.

The court approved bail for 40 out of over 200 applicants after scrutiny. The remaining accused were denied bail.

Those granted bail include Rezaul Karim, Shahajan, Rafiqul Islam, Saiful Islam, and others.

Earlier, on January 19, the same court granted bail to 178 BDR jawans, who were later released from Keraniganj and Kashimpur jails.

On February 25-26, 2009, mutinous BDR (now BGB) personnel carried out a brutal revolt at Pilkhana headquarters, killing 74 people, including 57 army officers.

Two cases—one for murder and another under the Explosives Act—were filed. The murder case concluded in 2013, with 152 sentenced to death and 160 to life imprisonment.

The explosives case, involving 834 accused, faced delays as prosecutors prioritized the murder trial. Proceedings later stalled, prolonging the case.

MSK/