Police recovered the bodies of five people, including a woman, from separate locations across the capital on Monday (14 September). The bodies were found between the morning and afternoon in Shahbagh, Motijheel, Jatrabari and Kamrangirchar.
The identities of all five deceased remained unknown at the time of the recoveries. Police said they appeared to be people living on the streets, although their identities and the precise circumstances surrounding their deaths had yet to be established.
The bodies were subsequently sent to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital mortuary for post-mortem examinations. The examinations are expected to help determine the causes of death, particularly in cases where there were no immediately apparent signs explaining how the individuals died.
In Jatrabari, police recovered the body of a man believed to be around 45 years old from the Shonir Akhra area on Monday. Local residents informed police after finding him there. Sub-Inspector Md Asaduzzaman Jewel went to the scene, recovered the body and sent it to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital mortuary for examination.
A separate incident was reported in Motijheel that morning. Passers-by found a man, estimated to be around 50 years old, lying on a road opposite Notre Dame College. They rescued him and took him to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for treatment. He later died while receiving medical care. His identity was not immediately established.
Two more bodies were recovered in the Shahbagh area on the same day. One was a woman, approximately 30 years old, whose body was found near Dhaka Medical College Hospital. The other was a man of roughly the same age, whose body was recovered near the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery.
After receiving information from local residents, Shahbagh police Sub-Inspector Bijoy Mondal recovered the two bodies. According to the police officer, both individuals appeared to be living on the streets. Their deaths were initially believed to have been caused by illness, though the exact causes could not be confirmed at the time.
Another death was reported in Kamrangirchar. Police recovered the body of a 65-year-old man from the Jaulhati area on Monday morning after receiving information from local residents. Kamrangirchar police duty officer Sub-Inspector Praneshwar Das said the elderly man also appeared to have been living on the streets.
With the identities of the five deceased still unknown, police will need to establish their personal details and, where possible, locate relatives or other people who may have known them. Such identification is also necessary before the bodies can be handed over to families.
The five incidents occurred in different parts of the capital and were reported separately. There was no immediate information indicating that the deaths were connected. Police have primarily indicated illness or other natural causes in some of the cases, but the post-mortem examinations will be important in establishing the circumstances more conclusively.
The recovery of unidentified bodies from public places also highlights the difficulties faced by people living without stable shelter or regular access to healthcare. However, no broader conclusion about the causes of the five deaths can be drawn until the relevant examinations and police inquiries are completed.
