Confusion continues to surround the number of people killed across Bangladesh during the mass uprising of July–August 2024 against the Sheikh Hasina rule, with the interim government, police, human rights organisations and the United Nations reporting sharply differing figures.
According to a gazette issued by the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs, 844 people were killed in the unrest. Police Headquarters, however, recorded 334 deaths in July and 626 in August — a total of 960.
A UN fact-finding mission commissioned by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reported an even higher figure — around 1,400 deaths — leaving about 500 cases unaccounted for in police records.
Conflicting records raise key questions
The discrepancy of nearly 500 deaths between the UN and police data has raised serious questions. If the UN figure is correct, it remains unclear where the missing bodies are and why corresponding cases were not filed.
During the height of the unrest, families in areas such as Uttara and Jatrabari reportedly buried relatives privately, fearing to approach police stations.
Assistant Inspector General (Media and Public Relations) of Bangladesh Police, AHM Shahadat Hossain, said the police figures were based on cases filed with different police stations. “There is no scope for error here,” he said.
Asked whether the police count included the deaths of 44 police officers, Awami League activists or unidentified burials, Hossain replied: “If no case was filed, such incidents could not appear in police statistics.”
On the UN’s higher figures, he said, “In developed countries such matters are researched. The gap may be investigated through research here as well.”
TIMES of Bangladesh contacted UN Resident Coordinator Gwyn Lewis for clarification on the data discrepancy but has not yet received a response.
Rights groups, charities report different figures
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), nearly 1,000 people — including over 100 children — were killed in the July uprising and subsequent reprisals after Hasina’s fall.
The Human Rights Support Society (HRSS), a Dhaka-based rights group, said 875 people were killed between 16 July and 9 September 2024 amid the quota reform movement and mass protests — most allegedly by security forces.
Anjuman Mofidul Islam, a charity, reported that 114 unclaimed bodies were buried at Dhaka’s Rayerbazar graveyard and six at Jurain during July and August. Many are believed to have been protest victims, though the government has not confirmed how many.
Mofazzal Hossain of the UN’s Dhaka office said the UN’s July–August fact-finding report was partly based on HRW findings. The HRW report relied on interviews with victims, relatives, eyewitnesses and three interim government officials, as well as eight members of the security forces who spoke anonymously fearing reprisals.
Hospitals tell of unrecorded deaths
Brigadier General Md Asaduzzaman, Director of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), said 264 bodies arrived at the hospital during the two months of unrest. Of these, 174 were brought in dead and 90 died during treatment.
Among those brought in dead, 91 bodies were handed directly to families from the emergency department without post-mortem, while 83 were sent to the morgue for autopsy.
As protests peaked, parts of Dhaka — including Uttara, UCB Square, Banasree, Rampura, Mirpur and Jatrabari — became virtual battlegrounds. Hospitals such as Shaheed Monsur Ali Medical College Hospital, Kuwait Bangladesh Friendship Government Hospital, Uttara Adhunik Medical College Hospital and Crescent Hospital received large numbers of casualties.
Many victims were taken directly from protest sites to hospitals and handed to relatives without autopsies.
Rubel Hossain, Deputy General Manager of Farazy Hospital in Banasree, said that between 18 and 20 July, eight bodies from the Rampura quota protest were collected by people “without notifying the police.”
According to Dr Mohammad Shihab Uddin, Director of Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, there were no official documents of bodies leaving without post-mortem. “A staff member kept personal records of casualties from that period.”
Ministry defends its list
The government’s gazette listing 844 deaths also contained duplicate names, a senior official said, prompting revisions.
Ishrat Chowdhury, Secretary of the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs, said the list was compiled from district administrations and hospitals across the country. She acknowledged that after publication, some names were removed following complaints.
“In July–August last year, not only protesters but 44 police officers and many Awami League activists were also killed. Their names were not included in the protesters’ list,” she said.
“Many unclaimed bodies were also not added to the gazette. An investigation has begun to identify those buried as unclaimed. The exact number is not yet known.”
Earlier lists and UN findings
After Hasina’s ouster, a special cell on the uprising released an initial list on 21 December 2024, recording 858 dead and 11,551 injured. The first gazette, issued on 16 January, named 834 “martyrs” nationwide. Nearly six months later, on 30 June this year, the ministry updated the number to 844.
The UN fact-finding mission’s report, released on 12 February, stated that around 1,400 people were killed during the July–August unrest — most by rifle and shotgun fire. Thousands more were injured, while police and RAB records show 11,700 arrests. The UN said 12–13% of those killed were children.
Bodies retrieved without autopsies
Casualties from clashes in Jatrabari, Chankharpul and Bangshal were taken to Sir Salimullah Medical College Hospital, where families collected the bodies without post-mortem. On 4 August alone, ten bodies from Jatrabari were removed this way.
Shyamal Lal, a morgue assistant, said two autopsies were conducted and that “no other bodies were brought to the morgue.”
