Viral video shows police piling dead bodies on van in Ashulia

A video has been making rounds on social media where a man wearing a police vest, white shirt and a police helmet is seen holding the two hands of a youth who seems to have lost consciousness. He places the youth on a van where several others are already piled. The road was wet with blood.. The bodies were covered by bed sheets, while several people wearing police helmets and vests were also seen near the van.

Many people claimed the 1.14-minute video was recorded near the Ashulia police station area, outskirts of capital Dhaka. Qadaruddin Shishir, a Bangladesh fact check editor at AFP, said in a Facebook post on 5 August that location of the video was a nearby area of the Ashulia police station.

After reviewing various issues surrounding the location of the video and speaking to locals, it has been confirmed that the location of the video was the road next to the Islam Polymers & Plasticizers Limited Officers Family Quarters.

The ‘Sadia Rajshahi Confectionary and Mistanno Bhandar’ shop is 10-15 feet away from the exact location of the video. When the show owner Fahima was shown the viral video she confirmed the location. She told Prothom Alo, “Yes, this is the place.”

The video also showed a poll campaign posters are pasted on the wall of the Islam Polymers & Plasticizers Limited Officers Family Quarters.

According to locals, the video was seemed to be shot from the first floor of a nearby three-storied building. But, several tenants and house lords said they had no knowledge about the video.

Visiting the area, it was seen that the poster has the image of Abul Hossain from Ashulia’s Dhamsona union parishad ward 7, where he wishes people on Eid-ul-Azha. There was a mango tree on the other side of the wall, but its branches spread over the road. There is turn in the wall and the lower part of the wall was painted black.

Many people claimed the person wearing police vest and helmet was an official of the Dhaka district North’s detective branch. Porhtom Alo could not reach the police official for comment as his mobile phone was found switched off.

Local sources said several people were killed and scores were injured after police and Awami League leaders-activists fired indiscriminately on the protesters of the Students Against Discrimination in Bipile area of Ashulia on 5 August. Locals found at least two charred bodies on a torched pickup van with insignia away from Ashulia police station on the Nabinagar-Chandra highway at night. There was also another charred body in front of the Ashulia police station. Bodies of two policemen were also hung upside down on an overbridge. The police station was also torched, vandalised and looted at that night.

The next day, relatives identified one of the two people whose charred bodies were found in the torched pickup van. His name was Sazzad Hossain, who was a student. His mother Shahina Begum told Prothom Alo, “My son had gone missing since 5 August. The next day, his charred body was found on the police pickup van and I identified him seeing his identity card in the pocket. We buried him in Shaympur village of Gaibandha on 7 August.”

According to sources at various hospitals in Ashulia area, 15 people were killed in attacks in Ashulia’s Bypile area. Besides, five people including at least three police members were also killed in the Ashulia police station area.

Dhaka’s superintendent of police Ahmed Muyid told Prothom Alo, “We have already seen the video and our expert team is working on it. Many people are also giving information identifying the persons seen in the video. We are also working to confirm the matter.”

This report appeared in the print and online editions of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Hasanul Banna