Conflicting reports from the government and the United Nations have raised fresh questions over the actual death toll in the July–August mass uprising that led to the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government.
A gazette issued by the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs lists 844 individuals as ‘martyrs’ of the uprising. However, a UN fact-finding mission estimates the death toll to be nearly 1,400—significantly higher than the government figure.
The gap has sparked debate over the credibility of the reports, with officials and analysts questioning the process of verification and documentation.
According to ministry sources, the official list has been revised since its first release in December, following complaints of duplicate entries and errors. Secretary Ishrat Chowdhury said several names were mistakenly included and are being removed in the latest version, published on 30 June.
In response to the UN figure, government officials said it may include members of law enforcement and ruling party activists who were killed during the unrest but were not included in the official martyr list.
Experts noted that the discrepancy may also stem from unrecorded deaths, including unidentified victims, while there have been allegations of fake names being added to the government list. Analyst Mahiuddin Ahmed said the delays and inconsistencies show continued negligence in documenting the dead and injured. “The laxity seen at the beginning of the process has only intensified,” he said.
The government has said that the list is still being reviewed and that a final number will only be confirmed after ongoing investigations are completed. The mismatch in figures has raised questions not only about government transparency but also about the UN report’s methodology, intensifying calls for an independent verification process.