Remains buried in Savar identified as those of BNP leader Harris Chowdhury

The DNA of his remains matches those of his daughter Samira Tanzin Chowdhury

The body buried under the name “Mahmudur Rahman” in a madrasah graveyard in Dhaka’s Savar Upazila has been identified as the remains of BNP leader Abul Harris Chowdhury.

The DNA of the body exhumed from the grave matches those of his daughter Samira Tanzin Chowdhury.

The High Court has allowed Harris’s remains to be reinterred in the graveyard of his choosing, fulfilling his expressed desire to be laid to rest with “due respect” as a freedom fighter.

On Wednesday, the bench of Justices Fahmida Quader and Muniba Asaf gave the order following the submission of the DNA test results that conclusively established his identity.

Lawyer Mahdin Chowdhury told bdnews24.com: “On Oct 16, Harris Chowdhury’s remains were exhumed from the graveyard of Jamia Khatamun Nabiyeen Madrasah in Savar’s Birulia and samples were collected for DNA testing. The results of the DNA test arrived on Nov 5.”

“The DNA test clearly shows that police administration and the Concern Department say that the body that was buried is the biological father of Barrister Samira Tanzin. The DNA test report was submitted to the High Court on Nov 10 or 11.”

He added: “After receiving the copy of the report, we filed two applications at the High Court on Wednesday. His remains, which were lying in the morgue of Dhaka Medical College, should be buried at the Shafiqul Haque Chowdhury Memorial Orphanage in Sylhet’s Kanaighat, as per his last wish.”

“Another application was filed by the administration and government officials to provide assistance on the matter. The bench of the Hon’ble Court approved both applications after a long hearing.”

Meanwhile, Samira said: “My father died in my arms. I buried him. Now the truth is out.”

“My father’s remains are preserved at Dhaka Medical, from there, my father will be taken to Sylhet. We have to go through a process. The administration is still not entirely free of fascists.”

During the BNP-Jamaat-e-Islami coalition government, Harris was the political secretary to then prime minister Khaleda Zia.

On Sept 3, 2021, Samira said that her father died at a hospital in Dhaka at the age of 68. On Oct 16, the administration exhumed his remains for DNA testing.

According to the family, he was in hiding to escape the “wrath” of the then government. Later, he lived in Dhaka under the alias “Mahmudur Rahman”. He died at the capital’s Evercare Hospital after contracting COVID-19.

But due to pressure from law enforcing agencies of the then government, his death was covered up and he was forcibly buried in the madrasah graveyard.

The government did not issue any death certificate using his real name at that time. It is alleged that he was not given the respect he deserved as a heroic freedom fighter.