Gopalganj Correspondent
The bodies of three of the five people killed in the clashes that erupted in Gopalganj on July 16 over the NCP’s March to Gopalganj march were exhumed from their graves on Monday, four days after they were buried, on a court order. Two bodies were exhumed from the Gopalganj municipal graveyard and one from Tungipara in the afternoon. Two executive magistrates from the Gopalganj district administration were present at the time. Gopalganj Sadar Police Station OC Mir Md. Sajedur Rahman said that the plaintiffs in the case filed over the death of the deceased applied to the court on Sunday to exhume the body for an autopsy and a post-mortem report. Later, in the presence of the court magistrate, the bodies of the deceased Ramzan Kazi, Emon Talukder and Sohel Rana were exhumed from the graves and ordered for post-mortem reports and autopsy. On Monday around 1 pm, in the presence of NDC Ronti Poddar and Assistant Commissioner and Executive Magistrate Md. Russell Munshi, Ramzan Kazi and Emon Talukder, and Executive Magistrate Maruf Dastagir, Sohel Rana’s body was exhumed and sent to the morgue of the 250-bed Gopalganj General Hospital. Besides, the body of Deepta Saha, of the other two, was cremated according to Hindu religious rites and the autopsy of Ramzan Munshi’s body was completed at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Meanwhile, the situation in Gopalganj has started to improve after the curfew and Section 144 were lifted. However, fearing arrest, everyone, young and old, has fled their homes and elsewhere. On Monday, a visit to different areas of the district town showed that various shops, including drug stores and food shops, have started opening. However, many owners and employees are afraid to open their businesses due to fear of arrest. Traffic movement on the Dhaka-Khulna highway is normal. Law enforcement is active in the city. Educational institutions, offices and courts have opened. However, the attendance is comparatively low. Many are afraid to send their children to educational institutions. On the other hand, the district BNP has made a special request to the administration to ensure that no innocent citizen is harassed in the case filed in connection with the chase, counter-chase and clash between Awami League leaders and supporters and NCP leaders and activists and law enforcement agencies in Gopalganj. An NCP leader and BNP leader strongly condemned and protested the mass arrests in Kotalipara on Sunday. BNP also held protest programs in Tungipara and Gopalganj Sadar Upazila.