Families want closure, however painful

Seven months after the July uprising in Bangladesh, many protesters still remain missing. We investigated 31 cases: six were buried as unclaimed bodies at Rayerbazar graveyard; four were identified by families from among the charred bodies in Ashulia; two were handed over to families after DNA testing; and 19 are still unaccounted for. We found evidence of systematic government efforts to cover up medical records and bodies of the victims so they can never be found again. This four-part series also documents how families were denied time to collect the corpses from hospital morgues, and how they are now waiting for the bodies of their loved ones. This is the fourth and the last part of the series.

When we first started visiting Dhaka Medical College Hospital in January for this story, there were seven protest-related unclaimed bodies freezing in its mortuaries. One of them, Md Hasan, a teenage trader from Gulistan, was handed over to his family on February 14 after DNA tests.  The remaining six are still stored at DMCH morgue, growing colder.

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Hasan’s father, Md Monir Hossain, had searched for his son everywhere — hospitals, clinics, cemeteries, and even Anjuman Mufidul Islam since his son went missing on August 5, 2024, the day Sheikh Hasina fell and fled the country.

“To exhume bodies from graves, the request needs to come from the relevant police stations based on cases filed in connection to the incidents. We did not receive any such request from the police stations either.”

“After four months, student leaders told me about the seven bodies at Dhaka Medical. I identified my son from his clothing. He always wore white.” 

Md Sogir from Sylhet believes his son, Md Waliullah, 25, a trader from Elephant Road in the capital, is also among the bullet-ridden bodies in the DMCH mortuary.

“My son went missing in July. I looked for him for five months. The bodies are barely recognisable, but I identified my son through an old surgery mark on his right leg.” 

“After four months, student leaders told me about the seven bodies at Dhaka Medical. I identified my son from his clothing. He always wore white.” 

Md Sogir from Sylhet believes his son, Md Waliullah, 25, a trader from Elephant Road in the capital, is also among the bullet-ridden bodies in the DMCH mortuary.

“My son went missing in July. I looked for him for five months. The bodies are barely recognisable, but I identified my son through an old surgery mark on his right leg.” 

Sogir has given his DNA sample to the Criminal Investigation Department of police and is awaiting confirmation.

“Even if the identities of the unclaimed bodies are found, detection of the graves is challenging because they were buried collectively. There’s no way of knowing who was buried where.”

— Kamrul Ahmed, head of Anjuman Mufidul Islam’s burial service

A SYSTEM FAILING THE VICTIMS

If the sample does not match and if no one comes looking for the rest of the bodies still freezing at DMCH, these men, who were once someone’s family, will likely be buried as “nobodies” in unmarked graves like many others (read more in Part 1).

On January 25, 2025, former information adviser Nahid Islam visited the Rayerbazar graveyard to pay tribute to the unidentified martyrs of the July uprising. There, Nahid, currently the leader of National Citizen Party, assured the families of these victims that efforts to identify those buried in unmarked graves had begun.

In reality, however, the process remains stuck in red tape.

In November last year, the July Uprising Cell under the health ministry gave families only a 12-day window to report missing persons, posting an obscure notice on a barely visible website. The Cell claims it did not receive any missing reports yet.

Nahid along with other student leaders visited the graveyard again on March 4 after the launch of the new party, and reiterated their commitment to identifying the graves of the unclaimed bodies.

However, not a single of the 31 families we spoke to knew about this notice or the newspaper advertisements published by the cell. They don’t even know where the office is.

Mahbub Ullah Mazumder, senior assistant secretary of July Foundation, has made a list of the six that this investigation confirmed to have been buried in Rayerbazar and one missing protester from Anjuman documents. After Mahbub shared the list with the cell, it only sent a letter to relevant ministries for actions.

Three government officials working on the July Uprising Cell said the health ministry is working to identify the missing bodies “very seriously” and asked The Daily Star to call health Secretary Md Saidur Rahman, who in turn advised us to contact Joint Secretary Dr SM Mustafizur Rahman.

The joint secretary said the ministry sent a letter to the deputy commissioner’s office to take action. Dhaka DC Tanvir Ahmed said they did not receive the letter yet.

“To exhume bodies from graves, the request needs to come from the relevant police stations based on cases filed in connection with the incidents. We did not receive any such request from the police stations either,” Tanvir added.

As the process remains stuck in the labyrinth of paper works involving a complex network of multiple government agencies, families of Sohel Rana, Faisal Sarker,  Md Assadullah, Rafiqul Islam, Mahin Mia, Ahmed Jilani, and many other victims of the July massacre who remain missing, continue to look for answers.

They want to know where exactly their loved ones lie among the 114 buried in Block 4 of Rayerbazar. These graves, each marked solely by a bamboo pole, leave the families with no way of knowing that. Meanwhile, rain has flattened the graves, and the bamboo markers are rotting.

If a GD number, a photo, a birthmark, age, clothing or any previous injury marks had been placed on the bamboo pole before burying the unclaimed bodies, identifying them would have been easier. Now, if any relative claims a body, all the corpses would need to be exhumed for DNA profiling.

“Even if the identities of the unclaimed bodies are found, detection of the graves is challenging because they were buried collectively. There’s no way of knowing who was buried where,” said Kamrul Ahmed, head of Anjuman Mufidul Islam’s burial service, who oversaw the burial of many July massacre victims.