The burial or cremation of four people shot dead during Wednesday’s violence in Gopalganj has been carried out without any post-mortem examinations.
Besides, as of Thursday night, when the report was filed, no case had been filed over the incident.
Clashes erupted on Wednesday after leaders and supporters of the Awami League and the now-banned Chhatra League allegedly attacked the National Citizen Party’s (NCP) rally in the district.
Confrontations followed between the attackers and law enforcement, during which four people were reportedly shot dead.
The deceased were Ramzan Kazi, Sohel Rana, Dipto Saha and Imon Talukder.
Families of the victims claimed they had all been shot and killed by law enforcement personnel.
None of the four victims underwent an inquest or autopsy procedures.
Imon was buried at around 7am on Thursday at the municipal graveyard in Getpara, and Sohel was laid to rest at his family graveyard in Tungipara at about the same time.
Ramzan was buried on Wednesday night after the Esha prayers in Getpara, while Dipto’s cremation also took place at the municipal cremation ground the same night.
Dr Jibitesh Biswas, superintendent of Gopalganj General Hospital, told a Bangla daily that all four bodies had been brought to the hospital, but no post-mortems had been conducted.
He added that many others had been treated for injuries.
Police also reportedly did not perform any inquest reports.
Meanwhile, family members claimed no death certificates had been issued by the hospital.
Dhaka Range Deputy Inspector General of Police Rezaul Karim Mallick acknowledged that the autopsies had not been conducted.
He told reporters that more than 25 people had been detained so far.
When asked why no post-mortem examinations had been carried out, he did not provide a direct answer but said the authorities would bring the matter under legal procedures, adding that preparations were underway to file a case over the incident.
According to a police report shared with the media by the Chief Adviser’s Press Wing, “an unruly mob forcibly took the bodies of the four deceased from the district hospital, preventing autopsies from being performed.”
However, family members gave a different version.
Ramzan’s uncle, Kalim Munshi, told the daily Prothom Alo: “I saw in a video that my nephew was shot. We took him to the hospital, but could not save him. When we tried to take the body to the police station, we found the gate locked.
“Later, we brought the body back to the hospital for a post-mortem, but the hospital staff said, ‘Take him home now; there might be trouble here.’ So we could not do the post-mortem.”
Sohel’s uncle, Zahidul Islam Talukder, said: “I found out over the phone yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon that my nephew had been shot dead. By the time I arrived, the body had already been brought home from the hospital. No autopsy was done, and we did not receive any death certificate from the hospital.”
