Dhaka, Feb. 28 : While an official version about the mayhem perpetrated during the mutiny of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) is still awaited, some survivors and BDR troops have claimed that the whole incident of killings was spearheaded by a group of 20-25 non-commissioned soldiers.

These non-commissioned soldiers forced others to take up guns and participate in the savagery that followed, stated some of the surviving officers and fleeing mutineers in The Daily Star .

Dhaka, Feb. 28 : The discovery of a mass grave on Friday, which included the mutilated body of the Bangladesh Rifles Director General among 38 other officers in a small ditch at the premises of BDR headquarters, has numbed people in Bangladesh.

People here are perturbed after learning about the kind of savagery meted out to the deceased. Rescuers fear there might be more unmarked mass graves at Pilkhana.

Dhaka, Feb 28 : Newly appointed Director General of the BDR, Brigadier General Moinul Hossain, visited the BDR headquarters on Saturday.

During his visit, he supervised the search and rescue opeartions at the (BDR) headquarters.

Brigadier General Hossain has taken charge after the killing of his predecessor Major General Shakil Ahmed.

Major General Shakil Ahmed''s corpse, which was recovered on Friday, was found pitted with bullet holes and marks of a bayonet charge. It had at least seven bullet wounds.

Dhaka, Feb 28: The funeral or the Namaz-e-janaza of the 33 Bangladesh army officers, whose bodies were found during a rescue operation at the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) headquarters, was postponed today.

The funeral was scheduled to take place at the Army Stadium in Banani at 3:00 p. m.

The funeral of Major General Shakil Ahmed, the head of the BDR, was also scheduled to be held today. Major General Shakil Ahmed''s corpse was pitted with bullet holes and marks of a bayonet charge. It had at least seven bullet wounds.

Dhaka, Feb 28: United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has

Dhaka, Feb 28 : Expressing deep shock over the death of army officers and civilians in the mutiny at the BDR headquarters, Speaker Abdul Hamid and Deputy Speaker Shawkat Ali today said the incident has caused an irreparable loss to the country.

Terming the killing as ''sorrowful'', both prayed for the salvation of those killed and conveyed their sympathies to their family members.

A state of national mourning is being observed on Saturday.