On Thursday, Bangladesh released 178 former paramilitary troops from jail, nearly 16 years after they were arrested for their alleged role in a violent mutiny that killed dozens of senior army officers.

In 2009, a devastating two-day revolt broke out in Dhaka, Bangladesh, when rogue troops from the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) went on a rampage, killing 74 people. This violent uprising spread rapidly across the country, threatening the stability of the government, which was still in its early days under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Following the mutiny, thousands of individuals were arrested, and over 150 were initially sentenced to death in trials that human rights groups criticised for lacking proper procedures. The 178 individuals released on Thursday had been cleared of murder charges. However, they were still being held due to pending cases related to explosives law violations - a situation that had dragged on for over a decade since the revolt.

“I can’t express my feelings in words. I am returning to my family. I came out of a life full of darkness into the light,” a freed prisoner, Abul Kashem, aged 38, briefed AFP.

The release of the imprisoned men came several months after Sheikh Hasina was ousted from power following a student-led uprising that ended her 15-year autocratic rule over Bangladesh. As news of the impending release spread, families of the imprisoned men gathered at prisons in Dhaka early in the morning, eagerly awaiting their loved one's freedom.

“It feels like a dream. I never would have imagined he could come out of jail if Hasina was still in power,” on Thursday, Shiuly Akter, aged 40, wife of one of the freedmen, narrated AFP.

“There was no justice here; what happened to us was unfair. My husband knew nothing about the mutiny or the killings. He was just a novice in the BDR when he was arrested.”

A prior investigation into the mutiny pinpointed years of suppressed anger among ordinary soldiers, stemming from their pleas for better pay and treatment being consistently disregarded. However, since this investigation occurred during Sheikh Hasina's term, her opponents have raised allegations that she was involved in a conspiracy to instigate the mutiny, aiming to weaken the military and consolidate her power.

Since Sheikh Hasina's ouster, families of the slain soldiers have been pushing for a fresh investigation into the 2009 mutiny. Their demand was finally met last month by the interim government. The mutiny itself was a devastating event, with the rebels looting thousands of weapons from the Bangladesh Rifles headquarters and then going on a rampage, killing dozens in the barracks. The uprising gained momentum rapidly, with thousands of soldiers joining the mutineers before the army quelled the rebellion.