In most cases, the cases filed over the unidentified bodies make no progress at all, as the victims remain unidentified when the police submit the final report.
The Police Headquarters figures reveal that only 17 charge sheets have been submitted in the past two years, while another 37 cases are being investigated.
A study conducted by Dr Harun Ur Rashid of Sir Salimullah Medical College’s Forensic Medicine Department found that at least 40% of bodies belong to poor families, who are less inclined to identify the victim.
Around 30% of the corpses are recovered from rivers. Most of their deaths are caused by naval accidents. Since the bodies get decomposed while floating in the water, it becomes almost impossible to identify them, the study says.
Dr Harun found the remaining bodies were those of murder victims, and that the causes of death had greatly hampered the body identification process. The physician also said the unidentified deceased are buried in most cases with their DNA test reports still unpublished.On April 22, 2012, police recovered the half-decomposed body of a woman from the MP’s hostel located at Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban Square. Though statements from at least 15 members of parliament (MPs) were collected during the subsequent police investigation, neither the murderer nor the woman was ever identified.
Over the last two and a half years, a total of 3,311 unidentified dead bodies such as this have been recovered from different areas of the country, including 700 in the first half of this year alone – an average of almost 117 each month, or four per day.
Physical appearances suggest that most of the deceased were Bangladeshi and that many of them had been murdered.
According to Police Headquarters statistics, 2,454 of the bodies recovered were male, and 857 were female. Around one third of the unidentified corpses (1,119) were recovered from the railway range area.
Superintendent of Railway Police (East zone) Nazrul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune that as the railway sidings in Bangladesh do not have much protection, many people who sit idly or set up markets near the tracks die after being hit by trains.
Sources said the stretch of railway line from the airport to Gazipur is among at least 10 areas of the capital which regularly witness bodies being recovered. The others are: Mirpur Beribadh, Demra, Shyampur, Jatrabari, Kamrangirchar Beribadh and Keraniganj; and the areas adjoining the Buriganga and Dhaleshwari rivers.
In most cases, the cases filed over the unidentified bodies make no progress at all, as the victims remain unidentified when the police submit the final report.
The Police Headquarters figures reveal that only 17 charge sheets have been submitted in the past two years, while another 37 cases are being investigated.
A study conducted by Dr Harun Ur Rashid of Sir Salimullah Medical College’s Forensic Medicine Department found that at least 40% of bodies belong to poor families, who are less inclined to identify the victim.
Around 30% of the corpses are recovered from rivers. Most of their deaths are caused by naval accidents. Since the bodies get decomposed while floating in the water, it becomes almost impossible to identify them, the study says.
Dr Harun found the remaining bodies were those of murder victims, and that the causes of death had greatly hampered the body identification process. The physician also said the unidentified deceased are buried in most cases with their DNA test reports still unpublished.
In most cases, the cases filed over the unidentified bodies make no progress at all, as the victims remain unidentified when the police submit the final report.
The Police Headquarters figures reveal that only 17 charge sheets have been submitted in the past two years, while another 37 cases are being investigated.
A study conducted by Dr Harun Ur Rashid of Sir Salimullah Medical College’s Forensic Medicine Department found that at least 40% of bodies belong to poor families, who are less inclined to identify the victim.
Around 30% of the corpses are recovered from rivers. Most of their deaths are caused by naval accidents. Since the bodies get decomposed while floating in the water, it becomes almost impossible to identify them, the study says.
Dr Harun found the remaining bodies were those of murder victims, and that the causes of death had greatly hampered the body identification process. The physician also said the unidentified deceased are buried in most cases with their DNA test reports still unpublished.