Six unidentified bodies from July Uprising buried after a year at the morgue

Their DNA profiles have been prepared, but none of the claimants’ samples matched, police say

Six bodies that had been kept in the morgue at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) after their deaths during the Anti-discrimination Student Movement have been handed over to Anjuman Mufidul Islam, a charitable organisation that arranges burials.

Despite a year having passed since their deaths, their identities have not been confirmed. The bodies were buried at Jurain Graveyard on Thursday.

Shahbagh Police Station chief Khalid Mansur told bdnews24.com that the handover of the bodies took place following a court order.

He said that the bodies had been in the morgue for over a year. During this time, many people came forward to try and identify them.

“Their DNA profiles were already prepared. But none of the claimants’ samples matched,” he added.

Kamrul Ahmed, burial service officer at Anjuman Mufidul Islam, told bdnews24.com: “We received those six bodies and buried them at Jurain Graveyard around 2pm.”

Dr Kazi Golam Mukhlesur Rahman, head of the forensic medicine department at DMCH, told bdnews24.com on Wednesday that forensic reports on the bodies had been submitted to police. But as the bodies remained unidentified, they could not be handed over to any family.

“We heard that many came to claim the bodies, but since none could be positively identified, they could not be released,” he said.

During the July Uprising last year, police opened fire to suppress the protests.

According to government data, 834 people were killed across Bangladesh during that time.

Shahbagh police said these bodies arrived at the morgue before Aug 5 last year.

The deceased were brought in from several areas, including Dhaka’s Jatrabari. Post-mortem reports indicate that most of them died from injuries.