A Dhaka court has ordered the exhumation of the bodies of 114 unidentified individuals killed during the July movement in the Rayer Bazar area of the capital in order to determine their identities.
Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Mostafizur Rahman issued the order following a submitted petition on Monday, Additional Public Prosecutor Mohammad Shamsuddoha Sumon confirmed.
Earlier, Sub-Inspector Md Mahidul Islam of Mohammadpur police station submitted a petition requesting the exhumation.
The petition stated that during the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, men and women of various ages attained martyrdom at different times and dates in different areas of Dhaka metropolis.
"Among them, 114 unidentified martyrs have been buried as unrecognized individuals in the cemetery of Rayer Bazar under Mohammadpur police station. In order to take legal steps in the future and to identify the bodies of the martyrs, it is necessary to exhume the corpses from the grave through appropriate legal procedures.
"Postmortem reports must be prepared, and DNA samples from the bodies must be collected to confirm their identities. Moreover, after completing legal procedures and confirming identification through DNA profiling, arrangements must be made to hand over the bodies to their respective families as per family requests."
After reviewing the petition and relevant documents, the judge approved the application.