Police have arrested four members of a gang accused of digging up human skeletons from graves, processing them, and selling them on the market.
After detaining the suspects on Monday from Tejgaon and Uttara in Dhaka, police said they recovered 47 skulls and various human bones from their possession.
According to primary investigation, the group used to buy skeletons taken from graves for Tk 5,000 - Tk 7,000. After processing them, they sold the skeletons to medical students for Tk 15,000 - Tk 20,000 each. The gang reportedly collected skeletons from areas including Gazipur, Mymensingh, Sherpur, and Jamalpur.
The arrested individuals are Kazi Zahurul Islam Soumik, 25; Abul Kalam, 39; Asadul Munshi Jasim Ershad, 32; and Faisal Ahmed, 26.
Among them, Soumik is a final-year student at Sapporo Dental College and Hospital in Uttara, while Faisal has completed his studies at the same institution and is awaiting an internship.
Speaking at a press conference at the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Media Centre on Tuesday afternoon, DMP's Deputy Commissioner (DC-Tejgaon Division) Mohammad Ibne Mizan said that if any affected families file complaints, authorities will arrange to return the skeletons after DNA profiling.
He said Soumik was first detained on Monday afternoon in the Monipuripara area after receiving information about his presence there. A human skeleton was recovered from him at the time.
Based on his information, Abul Kalam and Asadul Munshi were later detained in front of Tejgaon College, where two more skeletons were recovered from them.
Further interrogation led police to a house in Sector 9 of Uttara, where the alleged ringleader Faisal was arrested. Police recovered 44 skulls and additional human bones from his possession.
The DC Ibne Mizan further said the group also operated an online wholesaling group. "Around 700 workers are involved in this group, and it has nearly 20,000 members," he said.
He added that the suspects had been involved in collecting and processing skeletons for several years. Some of them admitted to selling as many as 50 skeletons, while others said they had sold 20-25.
Police records show that Abul Kalam has at least 21 cases filed against him, including one in 2009 related to stealing skeletons from graves. Ershad also has two cases against him.
"They buy the skeletons from field-level collectors for Tk5,000-Tk7,000 and then sell them for Tk15,000-Tk20,000, depending on the buyer," Mizan said, and adding that "Many people are aware that they sell them."
"When someone wants to buy a skeleton or places an order online, they ask for one to two weeks' time before delivering it," he added.
Police said most of the buyers are medical students, though other groups are also involved in buying skeletons cheaply and reselling them at higher prices.
The DC Ibne Mizan explained that the suspects were involved in the entire process-from collecting bones from graves, processing them with chemicals, assembling them properly, and finally selling them to students.
Responding to a question, he said the suspects initially mentioned four districts as sources. Typically, they attempt to retrieve skeletons about a year after burial.
"They first observe the graveyards," he said. "They cannot operate in well-guarded cemeteries. Instead, they target isolated graves that are poorly protected, without guards, lighting, or CCTV cameras, and where there is little public movement."
After collection, the bones are processed with chemicals and then sold.
Police said they would seek remand to interrogate the suspects further and arrest others involved in the network.
