July uprising: Many killed still remain unidentified

Lucky Akhter became convinced that her husband Abul Hossain was among the bodies burned in a police van in front of Dhaka’s Ashulia Police Station after watching a video of the incident.

Abul Hossain had left home wearing a yellow jersey and lungi to join the movement in Ashulia on 5 August last year. Lucky identified parts of her husband’s clothing in the video, and her suspicion was later confirmed through DNA testing.

The video, which showed the burning of bodies, went viral about 25 days after the incident. That’s when it came to Lucky Akhter’s attention.

Although it came late, Lucky can now at least say her husband was martyred in the July mass uprising. But the identities of the 114 “unclaimed” bodies buried in Block 4 of the capital’s Rayerbazar graveyard during July–August last year still remain unknown.

A few families have only learned that their relatives are among those buried as unclaimed. But they still don’t know which grave holds whom.

Likewise, six unclaimed bodies remain in the morgue of the Forensic Department at Dhaka Medical College (under Shahbagh Police Station). The July Uprising Special Cell, formed through a private initiative, revealed this in a press conference on 10 January this year. Discussions are now underway to have the state take the initiative to bury these bodies.

There was, however, a seventh body among them. The family of Md. Hasan claimed it was his. Hasan had left home on 5 August last year wearing a white trouser and a kurta (panjabi) and never returned.

Hasan’s uncle, Noor Alam — an employee of an electrical equipment shop in Kaptanbazar, Dhaka — told Prothom Alo that they confirmed Hasan’s identity through DNA testing six months after his disappearance. The body was buried in the family graveyard in Bhola on 15 February.

There is still no exact count of how many bodies were buried as unclaimed. After the July movement reached its peak, hospitals, police, and other authorities did not maintain comprehensive records on where bodies were taken, where they were buried, or how they died during treatment. Although fingerprints could have helped identify many of the deceased, that opportunity was not properly used at the time.

On Monday, however, the court ordered the exhumation of the remains of the 114 people buried in Rayerbazar graveyard. The order came from Dhaka’s Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Mostafizur Rahman.

According to a gazette from the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs dated 2 August, there were 844 names on the list of martyrs. But another gazette published on Sunday night, 3 August, excluded eight names, reducing the number of listed martyrs to 836.

Jatrabari businessman Sohel Rana went missing on 18 July last year while participating in the movement. Family members first identified his body after watching a video circulating on the social media platform Facebook.

Thirty-four days after the incident, Sohel’s photo was found among documents related to bodies buried as unclaimed by Anjuman Mofidul. The family learned that the body had been buried in the Rayerbazar cemetery as an unclaimed corpse.

Since then, Sohel Rana’s mother, Rasheda Begum, has been searching the Rayerbazar cemetery for several days with laminated photographs of her son, hoping to identify his grave.

Sohel Rana’s brother, Mohammad Jewel, said, “My brother was not an unclaimed person. The police of the previous government killed him. They also arranged to bury him as unclaimed. And the current government has not been able to identify the unclaimed bodies even after a year.”

For the past year, victims’ families have tried to draw the government’s attention in various ways to identify the bodies of their relatives. On 28 May, at a programme held at the National Press Club by the July Revolutionary Alliance and July Community Alliance-Mirpur, several demands were raised— including identifying each grave through DNA testing, placing nameplates, and officially acknowledging the existence of mass graves in the July Declaration.

On 2 August, Home Affairs Adviser Lieutenant General (Retd.) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury visited the Rayerbazar graveyard. Speaking to the media, he said that although many families had initially not agreed, they were now willing to proceed with the identification process. If the bodies are identified, the families will be allowed to collect the remains of their loved ones and bury them elsewhere.

Mohammad Jewel, brother of Sohel Rana, expressed anger at the Home Affairs Adviser’s remarks. He claimed, “There is not a single family that does not agree to identify the bodies.”

On 16 July, in front of Block 4 of the Rayerbazar graveyard, a signboard of the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) was seen. It read: “Mass grave of the martyrs of the July 2024 uprising.”

Another signboard read: “Those who lie in eternal rest in these graves had fathers, had families. But due to the authoritarian government, they were buried as unclaimed. Yet, they were not truly unclaimed.”

Volunteer organisation Anjuman Mofidul Islam buried 80 unclaimed bodies in July and another 34 in August last year in the Rayerbazar cemetery. The organisation said that during the first 11 days of August, amid the chaos, they did not receive any requests to bury bodies.

However, a Prothom Alo investigation found that the highest number of deaths during the 36-day student and mass movement (from 1 July to 5 August) occurred on 18, 19, and 20 July, and on 4 and 5 August. Of these, 108 people were killed on 4 August and 344 on 5 August.

When the burials took place in July and August, the cemetery authorities placed bamboo markers at each grave.

However, a visit on 16 July revealed that many of the bamboo markers had been damaged or washed away due to storms and rain. Currently, under DNCC supervision, brick boundary walls are being built around the graves.

The only agency authorised to conduct DNA testing for identification of deceased individuals is the Forensic DNA Laboratory of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the police.

Ahmad Ferdous, head of the laboratory and Deputy Chief DNA Analyst, told Prothom Alo that DNA samples have been collected from six bodies in the Dhaka Medical College morgue. However, no one has come forward to claim them so far.

According to the CID’s records (as of 17 July), DNA case data has been collected for 37 unidentified bodies killed during the July movement. Of these, 15 bodies have been identified. DNA profiles have been prepared for seven of the unidentified bodies. For the cases where the families have claimed the bodies, 14 profiles have been generated for confirmation. Currently, one test is in progress.

Since 5 August, the family of Mohammad Hridoy (20) has been searching for his body. A video shows a police officer shooting him at point-blank range on a road in front of Sharif General Hospital in Konabari, Gazipur. After the shooting, police are seen dragging Hridoy’s body into an alley. However, no footage exists beyond that point.

The International Truth and Justice Project and Tech Global Institute have conducted forensic analyses of the video and produced a documentary.

Hridoy was a student at Hemnagar Degree College in Tangail and also drove an auto-rickshaw in Konabari. His elder sister, Mosammat Jesmin, told Prothom Alo over the phone that since the family never found his body, they haven’t received any compensation. Hridoy’s name was also not included in the list of martyrs.

An investigative team from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), analysing events between 1 July and 15 August 2024, stated that as many as 1,400 people may have been killed during the student and public uprising. Police collected the bodies, some of which were unidentified.

A report published in Prothom Alo on 12 July mentioned that 1,601 cases have been filed across the country in connection with deaths and injuries during the July uprising. The inability to identify bodies buried as unclaimed remains a major challenge for both investigation and legal proceedings.

On 1 February this year, Ashulia police exhumed two bodies from a cemetery in the Am Bagan area of Bogabari. One of the bodies was claimed by Lucky Akhter as that of her husband, Abul Hossain (33). In the first week of April, she received confirmation through DNA testing.

Speaking to Prothom Alo by phone last Saturday, Lucky Akhter said, “I got confirmation of my husband’s body. But I still haven’t been able to bring the body home for burial. It’s still lying in the Am Bagan cemetery. My husband was martyred for the country, but even after a year, his name has not been included in the official gazette. We haven’t received any recognition or honour—not even financial support.”

Explaining her family’s situation, she added, “My father and father-in-law are not financially stable. After my husband’s death, If I stay a week at my in-laws’ place, I have to move back to my father’s home and stay there for a month.”

With deep regret, she said, “The DC office is calling families of martyrs on 5 August. But they didn’t call me—because my husband’s name isn’t in the gazette.”