Dhaka, Jan 25 (IANS) Fifty three troopers of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) have pleaded guilty and begged for mercy for participating in last year’s mutiny that left 74 people dead.

A total of 62 troopers of the 19 Rifle Battalion in Feni were standing trial at a BDR special court that framed charges against them.

Prosecutor Lt. Col. Gazi Md. Salahuddin, commander of 19 Rifle Battalion, read out the charges against them before the BDR Special Court-3.

When the court asked the accused BDR troopers whether they are guilty or not, 53 of them pleaded guilty and begged for mercy. Nine others, however, pleaded not guilty and claimed they were not involved in the mutiny.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government was barely a few weeks old when it faced its most serious challenge Feb 25-26 last year after troopers mutinied inside the BDR’s headquarters at Pilkhana in Dhaka. The troopers’ uprising took place over low wages and poor working conditions.

The dead included 57 army officers on deputation to BDR.

BDR guards the country’s 4,300 km border with India and about 300 km with Myanmar.

The three-member court, headed by BDR Director General Maj Gen M. Mainul Islam, took deposition of four witnesses.

Some members of the Rifle Battalion under the Comilla sector took part in the mutiny by firing blanks and putting up barricades on the road Feb 26 following the revolt at the Pilkhana BDR headquarters.