Slain militants of Kalyanpur raid handed over to charity group for burial

The unclaimed bodies of nine suspected militants killed during the Jul 26 Kalyanpur raid have been handed over to a charity organisation for burial.

The charity, Anjuman Mufidul Islam, had taken charge of the unclaimed bodies of five militants and another suspected attacker killed in a raid on the Gulshan cafe, which was attacked on Jul 1.

Authorities at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) handed over the nine bodies to the charity on Wednesday, said its forensic department chief Sohel Mahmud.

The bodies have been kept at the hospitals morgue for the last two months since the raid in late July.

"We have collected samples from the bodies, in case any agency feels further investigations are needed," said Mahmud.

On Sept 22, the charity had taken charge of the bodies of the six suspected Gulshan cafe attackers from the Combined Military Hospital and buried them at Jurain Graveyard in Dhaka.

Three weeks after the terror attack on the upscale cafe, when 22 people were killed, police was attacked from an apartment at the capital's Kalyanpur neighbourhood during a routine search.

After a stand-off, which lasted for several hours, a SWAT team stormed the apartment and killed the nine suspected militants.

On Monday, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said the charity will be given charge of bodies of militants killed in different incidents if their families do not claim them.