Human remains from 42 graves stolen in 2 villages
Human remains or skeletons from at least 42 graves in two graveyards under Dinajpur Sadar upazila were found stolen.
Both the graveyards -- located at Uttar Shibpur and Sadarpur villages in Sundarpur union -- lack boundary fencing and security guards, said locals.
Solaiman Ali of Sadarpur village said the first damaged grave they discovered in the three-acre village graveyard was on Wednesday.
Since then, the villagers scoured the entire graveyard and found a total of 20 damaged graves, including his wife’s, from which criminals stole the remains, he said adding that his wife’s grave was intact till last Friday when he and his family members visited the grave last time.
Even skeletons of cadavers as young as four-month-olds were stolen, said another villager.
Many villagers speculated that the thefts might have been carried out in the past six weeks.
On Wednesday, residents of Uttar Shibpur village searched their 13.5-acre graveyard and found 22 human remains stolen from there.
The findings sparked an outcry in both villages and the villagers said they would launch a stern agitation unless law enforcers take swift action against the criminals.
Sujan Kumar Sarkar, additional superintendent of police in Dinajpur Sadar Circle, said the crime scenes were visited on Wednesday and a team of police was investigating the incident.
Such crime is rare in the district and the suspects might be local residents, he added.
Dr Shah Md Ismail Hossain, an assistant professor at M Abdur Rahim Medical College Hospital in Dinajpur, said human skeletons are high in demand with medical students for their anatomy course and criminals might have stolen the human remains from the graves for the skeletons.
Each set of skeletons used to be sold for Tk 12,000 to 15,000 at stores in the country 20 years back, but now the price reached as high as Tk 45,000, he also said.
There are 6,040 graveyards for 22 lakh Muslims in the district of Dinajpur.
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