A group of families of those killed and buried as unidentified individuals in Rayerbazar graveyard in the capital鈥檚 Mohammadpur area during the 2024 July鈥揂ugust mass uprising have called for immediate DNA tests to identify them.
Golam Rahman, father of martyr Md Golam Nafiz, made the demand while addressing a press conference on behalf of the families at Rayerbazar graveyard.
Some of the families said that they, after the burial, could identify their near and dear ones by seeing the victims鈥� photos and clothes, but they were yet to confirm which graves were of their relatives.
They said that, despite a Dhaka court鈥檚 August 4 order for the exhumation of 114 bodies buried as unidentified victims of the uprising to confirm their identities and enable legal procedures, the interim government had yet to take any measures.
鈥楾he interim government came to power on the blood of our brothers. So, why have they not taken any measures to identify the unidentified martyrs?鈥� said Md Alvi Nabil Hossain, younger brother of Md Sohel Rana, who was killed on July 18.
Nabil said that he came to know about his brother through a brother of a martyr, but the grave of the martyr was still unknown.
He said that his brother was buried in Rayerbazar through Anjuman Mufidul Islam, but he was yet to know exactly which one was his brother鈥檚 grave.
Farzana Akter, widow of martyr Md Asadullah, said she learned about the death of her husband, who worked as a personal car driver, 19 days after he died on July 22 at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
A mother of two minor children, Farzana, urged the government to identify her husband鈥檚 grave.
Josna Begum, mother of pickup driver Md Mahin who was killed during the uprising, came from Mymensingh to the graveyard on Friday, thinking that the bodies would be exhumed from the graves.
鈥業 just want to see at least the bones of my son,鈥� said the grieving mother.
The families also demanded justice for the martyrs, implementation of the July Charter, proper treatment for those injured during the uprising, and rehabilitation of the victims.
According to a notification, the government has so far prepared a list of 836 people who had sacrificed their lives during the uprising that led to the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina-led regime on August 5, 2024.
However, a report by the United Nations Human Rights Office, published in February, estimated that up to 1,400 people were killed and several thousand injured between July 1 and August 15, 2024.聽聽
