Bangladesh police to handle unclaimed militants’ bodies

Dhaka, Sep 5 (IANS) As relatives were reluctant to receive bodies of 19 killed militants, Dhaka Police on Monday said what to do with the bodies will be decided after test reports.

Dhaka Police spokesman Masudur Rahman said the decision on the bodies of the militants killed here in the July 1 cafe attack and subsequent raids will be finalised after receiving reports, Xinhua news agency reported.

Six militants were killed in the cafe attack, nine in Dhaka's Kalyanpur raid, three, including Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury, one of the masterminds of the Spanish cafe attack, in the outskirts of the capital city and one in Dhaka's Mirpur area.

Rahman said relevant authorities will decide whether the bodies would be handed over to their families or Anjuman, an organisation well-known in Bangladesh for its burial service.

The families are yet to claim the bodies, reportedly kept at hospital's morgues, he said.

According to the sources, though the identities of the most of the slain militants have been confirmed through DNA test, none of their families are willing to receive their bodies.

Weeks after July 1 attack at the Holey Artisan Bakery, nine suspected militants were killed as Bangladesh law enforcers conducted a raid on a hideout of banned Islamist outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).

Nine Italians, seven Japanese, two Bangladeshis, an Indian and a Bangladeshi-origin American were among the 22 people killed in the attack.