Smuggling of Human Skeletons Goes Unchecked

Sohrab Ali Dewan was buried 15 months back in the Uttar Shibpur Government Graveyard under the Sundarban Union of Sadar Upazila in the Dinajpur district after his death. All went right until his son has recently learned that his remains were missing.

It did not take a long time for Feroz Ali Dewan to come to terms with the fact that his father's skeleton has been stolen from the grave.

This was not the only instance of stealing skeletons from the graves. Thieves recently dug out about 100 human skeletons from three cemeteries in the districts of Dinajpur, Gazipur and Tangail. In addition, dead bodies are missing from the hospital morgues to extract their skeletons.

Human skeletons, particularly skulls and bones, are in great demand, both at home and abroad, among medical students. In addition, there is a demand among some medical students for new dead bodies who cut those for gathering practical knowledge.

Cashing in on the enormous demand, the country's numerous smuggling gangs trade in human skeletons.

While several smugglers have been arrested by law enforcers over the past few years, they returned to the old job after they were released on bail from prison.

They have found many graveyards and hospital morgues as a safe haven for stealing human skeletons and bodies to sell those at higher prices at home and abroad.

A complete skeleton is sold for Tk 2-3 lakh, said medical students and doctors.

They said they have no option but to buy skeletons for practical studies through illegal channels due to the absence of a policy in this regard. Police seized 12 human skulls and two sacks of bones from a house in Sadar Upazila of Mymensingh district and arrested Saiful Islam, 40, an alleged member of an international skeleton smuggling gang, on November 15 last.

Officer-in-charge of Kotwali Model Police Station Firoz Talukdar said the skeletons were stolen from Kalibari Cemetery in the district and those were supposed to be smuggled to India through Haluaghat border.

Police said the gangs, apart from stealing skeletons from various graveyards, manage to get unclaimed bodies from hospital morgues in collusion with some unscrupulous morgue employees.

They said a gang is involved in the capital's Jurain Graveyard, where unclaimed bodies are buried.

Gang members steal bodies from the cemetery and transform them into skeletons by using a chemical to rotting flesh.

Besides, unclaimed bodies are sometimes taken away from hospitals by people posing as their relatives, said sources at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH). Some morgue staffers are involved in the illegal practice.

The morgue workers are also reportedly preserving human skulls and bones to sell those of the students of the medical college.

A student from the Anatomy Department of a medical college in the capital, requesting anonymity, told the media that they can purchase skulls and bones easily from morgue attendants known as domes.

“If anybody orders any skeleton, doms can arrange it,” he said, adding that he got one in such a way.

Recognizing the reality, Dr Salimur Rahman, Professor of Hepatology at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), told the media that medical students have a great need for practical studies of human skulls and bones.

He said the price of a skeleton is enormous and it's very difficult for a poor student to purchase a full one.

There is no regulation on the selling and purchase of skeletons in the country, which has led to smuggling, Dr Salimur said.

He underscored the need for devising a policy in this regard on an urgent basis.

Dr Sohel Mahmud, chief of the DMCH Forensic Department, said: “The students of Department of Anatomy need human skeletons for which they have to shell out huge money. Currently, a student collects the skeleton of his/her own as there’s no policy in this regard.”