No one comes looking for them. They have no relatives and no claimants. After lying in morgue refrigerators for days, they are eventually dubbed “unclaimed” bodies.
The number of such unclaimed bodies is increasing at an alarming rate in Dhaka.
Recently, the dismembered body of an unidentified woman and the bodies of two unidentified people were recovered from the capital’s National Eidgah and Supreme Court areas.
Those concerned said the rise is linked not only to deaths caused by accidents and among floating people, but also to the silent fate of numerous unidentified people who fall victim to murder.
Experts said a lack of professionalism among law enforcement agencies, an integrated database, the use of technology in crime-prone areas, police sources, modern DNA identification systems and effective state initiatives are among the reasons many bodies cannot be returned to their relatives.
Number of unclaimed bodies rising
According to Anjuman Mufidul Islam, 2,104 unclaimed bodies were buried between January 2023 and August 2026.
Of these, 490 were buried in 2023, 570 in 2024, 644 in 2025 and 400 up to August 2026.
The figures show a rising trend in the number of unclaimed bodies in the capital.
Kamrul Ahmed, burial service officer at Anjuman Mufidul Islam, told Dhaka Tribune on Monday morning that the organization receives bodies from hospitals with the necessary documents before taking them to cemeteries.
Most of the bodies are buried at Jurain and Rayerbazar Martyred Intellectuals Cemetery, he said.
Unclaimed bodies are buried at Jurain Cemetery under Dhaka South City Corporation and at the cemetery adjacent to the Rayerbazar Martyred Intellectuals Memorial under Dhaka North City Corporation.
There had been complications over space for burying the bodies, resulting in many unclaimed bodies remaining in morgues for extended periods.
Kamrul said the problem had caused difficulties in burying the bodies for a long time but has now been resolved.
Three unidentified bodies recovered in one day
Three unidentified bodies were recovered in the capital on September 12.
The dismembered body of a teenage girl was recovered from a schoolbag that had floated into the Hakkarpar canal in Adabor.
On the same day, police recovered the bodies of two unidentified people from footpaths near the National Eidgah ground and the High Court Mazar. One was approximately 65 years old and the other 45.
Adabor police station Officer-in-Charge Zahidul Islam Jahangir told Dhaka Tribune that four pieces of the teenage girl’s body were recovered from a schoolbag in the canal around 5pm on Saturday.
Eighteen hours later, her two legs were recovered.
The girl was between 14 and 16 years old, but her identity has not yet been established.
The OC said police collected her fingerprints and checked them against the National Identity Card (NID) database. However, as she did not have an NID, no matching information was found.
The dismembered body has been kept at the morgue of Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College.
Police filed a murder case with Adabor police station as the complainant over the incident.
Meanwhile, the bodies of two unidentified people were recovered from footpaths near the National Eidgah ground and High Court Mazar on the same day.
Shahbagh police station Officer-in-Charge Moniruzzaman told Dhaka Tribune on Monday afternoon that police recovered the bodies based on information provided by pedestrians.
The identity of one of the men has been established. His name is Jewel and his home is in Lalbagh. The identity of the other person remains unknown.
What police say
Police said unidentified bodies whose identities can be established are disposed of according to the law and handed over to their relatives.
Bodies that remain unidentified and unclaimed often stay in morgues. In such cases, police take the necessary measures according to court directives.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner (Media) Md Akter Hossain told Dhaka Tribune on Monday evening that police had no information indicating that the number of unclaimed bodies had increased.
“We do not have such information. The information you have received is your analysis, but we also need to know whether it has increased,” he said.
What experts say
Touhidul Haque, an associate professor at the Institute of Social Welfare and Research at Dhaka University, told Dhaka Tribune that an increase in unclaimed bodies indicates that the law and order situation is not normal.
Criminals are taking advantage of gaps in the efficiency and professionalism of law enforcement agencies, he said.
“They have realized that they can commit crimes and get away with them. As a result, the number of unclaimed bodies is increasing,” he said.
Touhidul said criminals are dismembering bodies after murder, putting them in bags and floating them in water, making identification difficult.
“Unclaimed bodies are increasing for various reasons, including murder. Police have not been able to demonstrate the necessary efficiency to control this,” he said.
The crime expert said the shortcomings of the police must first be acknowledged and addressed at the state level.
Crime-prone areas need to be identified, technology should be deployed in those areas and police sources need to be developed, he said.
“This will make it easier to arrest criminals. Besides, if they are brought under the law and strict punishment is ensured, crime will decrease,” he added.