On the morning of 25 February 2008 more than one thousand jawans of Bangladesh paramilitary force, Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) staged a mutiny at its headquarters in Dhaka at Pilkhana. For the next 33 hours, the mutineers held the BDR HQ, keeping several officers and civilians as hostage. Initially confined to Pilkhana, the mutiny later spread to other outposts of BDR. There were reports of disobedience or violence from at least twelve other BDR outposts. The killings, however, were confined only to the HQ. By the end of the mutiny, 74 people including 56 officers had lost their lives.

The mutiny has shocked the entire nation. Not only has the mutiny left a big question mark on the state of security in Bangladesh. It is clear that for a long time to come the ghost of the mutiny is going to haunt Bangladesh.