Body exhumed in Savar to confirm BNP leader Harris Chowdhury’s identity

The body of a man buried under the name Mahmudur Rahman was exhumed from a graveyard in Savar today following a court order for DNA testing to confirm if the man was actually BNP leader Harris Chowdhury.
The High Court issued the order for DNA testing on September 5, after a writ petition was filed by Barrister Samira Tanjim Chowdhury, daughter of Harris Chowdhury, who was a former political affairs secretary to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia.
The exhumation process began around 8:30am at a graveyard in Kamalpur, Birulia Union, and was completed by 2:00pm, according to Dhaka District Superintendent of Police (SP) Ahmed Mueed.
Executive Magistrate SM Russell Islam Noor had been directed to oversee the exhumation and maintain law and order during the process.
SP Mueed, along with Savar Assistant Commissioner (Land) and Executive Magistrate Noor, other senior officials, and Chowdhury’s family members, were present during the exhumation.
Regarding the exhumation of the body, SP Mueed said, “We have come to know that it is the body of Harris Chowdhury. His family brought his body here to be buried in a safe place. His daughter filed a writ petition in September and court ordered to exhumed the body. Following that order, the body was exhumed.”
Maulana Ashiqur Rahman Kashemi, who led the funeral prayers in 2021, recalled, “We buried him as Professor Mahmudur Rahman after receiving the body from his brother-in-law during the Covid-19 pandemic. Until now, we knew him by that name.”
Family members have confirmed that Harris Chowdhury’s last wish was to be buried in his native village in Sylhet. After the exhumation confirms his identity, they plan to carry out his final rites there.
“They (Awami League) are not willing to accept that Mahmudur Rahman was my father. He was not allowed to be buried in his ancestral home in Sylhet, nor was a death certificate issued. Many even claimed he hadn’t died and had gone into hiding,” said his daughter Samira.
She added, “I hope my father will be buried with state dignity, as per his final wishes.”