The rise in the number of unidentified dead bodies in state hospitals is a clear indication of the spurt in secret killings, according to a private charity organisation. The Dhaka Medical College Hospital (MMCH) and Sir Salimullah Medical College Hospital (SSMCH), the two major government hospitals of the city, receive about five unidentified dead bodies every day, according to statistics provided by Anjuman Mofidul Islam.
In most cases, autopsy done on these unclaimed corpses revealed the cause of death as murder or accident, and the bodies were often without limbs or the head. Police usually file a case of unnatural death (UD) in such incidents by taking a photo of the victim. After a while, the file starts gathering dust and the case does not progress much due to lack of leads. And then, these bodies are buried by Anjuman Mofidul Islam.
According to sources, Anjuman Mufidul Islam receives four to five unidentified bodies from the DMCH and SSMCH, while local police stations also hand over some bodies to them.
The organisation buried 128 dead bodies in August this year. In July, it buried 113 bodies. From July 2011 to June 2012, the organisation buried a total of 1,181 bodies. Between July 2010 and June 11, they buried 1,054 dead bodies, while the number was 1,596 from July 2009 to June 2010.
Mohammad Abdul Halim, director (service) of Anjuman Mufidul Islam, told The Independent that most unidentified bodies sent to them were of teenagers and that a number of victims died of gun wounds, stab injuries, or asphyxiation. Sometimes, the organization receives bodies that had been hacked to pieces, he added.
About the process of burial, Halim said, "We receive a number of dead bodies daily, but due to insufficient facility for preservation, we bury them as soon as possible. Moreover, some bodies come to us in a really bad state as they often get damaged during transit or due to bad preservation in hospital morgues.”
“Sometimes, we find rats in the bellies of the bodies, which is why it is not possible to keep the bodies for identification for long. Only a handful of the corpses get identified,” he added.
The Independent found that a woman named Rahima Begum had come to the DMCH with a young girl called Ziamin, on October 7, 2012, around 12pm. She soon left Ziamin at the hospital on the pretext of buying some medicine. Doctors later found that the girl had died a long time ago. Ziamin’s body was first sent to the DMCH morgue and then handed over to Anjuman Mufidul Islam.
On October 10, around 2 am, some transport workers found a big bag near the Gabtoli bus terminal underpass. When police opened the bag, they found the dead body of a 17-year-old boy inside the bag. Though police filed a case in this regard, the mystery behind the incident remained unresolved and the body was deposited at the Anjuman Mufidul Islam morgue.
Professor of sociology at Dhaka University (DU) Masuda M Rashid said that the number of unnatural deaths was on the rise due to the negligence and inefficiency of law-enforcement agencies. “Besides, complete lack of exemplary punishment also encourages criminals to thrive under the nose of law-enforcers,” he added.
“Moreover, foreign films and the internet are teaching youths how they should commit crimes,” he said.
Former inspector general of police (IGP) Abdul Kaiyum said people did not get information about their missing relatives due to lack of awareness. “Besides, the authorities concerned did not make announcements about the unidentified dead bodies,” he added. Dhaka metropolitan police (media and publication) deputy commissioner Masudur Rahman said, “Though it is difficult to investigate a UD case, we try our best to get the victims’ identities.”
Saturday 22 December 2012
http://www.theindependentbd.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=147188:rising-number-of-unidentified-bodies-hint-at-secret-killings&catid=129:frontpage&Itemid=121
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