Human skeleton black market booms amid legal vacuum in BD
Staff Reporter :
A chilling discovery of 47 human skulls and dozens of bones in the capital’s Tejgaon and Uttara areas has pulled back the veil on a macabre underground trade that stretches far beyond a single raid.
Law enforcement officials say the bones were obtained from graveyards across several districts and sold through an organised online network, highlighting an illicit economy built on a shocking violation of the dead and societal norms.
On March 9, Dhaka police arrested four individuals, including two dental students, after recovering 47 human skulls and other skeleton parts during raids related to a grave-robbing syndicate. Authorities say the group was part of a larger network that sourced bodies from unprotected graves waiting about a year after burial before exhuming human remains.
Officials told reporters the bones were typically purchased from field .level collectors for around Tk 6,000–8,000 and sold for Tk 15,000–20,000 after being cleaned and processed. The network reportedly operated via an online platform, with roughly 20,000 members and around 700 individuals involved in different stages of acquisition and distribution.
What data says
Over the past four to five years, Bangladesh has witnessed a disturbing pattern of graveyard and skeleton thefts, primarily reported in the media rather than in any centralised official database.
Between 2023 and 2026, news outlets documented at least eight to ten major incidents, with over 130 human skeletons and bones stolen or recovered.
In 2026, a high-profile bust in Dhaka saw 47 skulls and bones seized from a black-market network, leading to the arrest of four individuals.
The previous year, skeletons were stolen in multiple districts, including Pabna, Munshiganj, Gazipur, Manikganj, Bhola, and Sirajganj, with individual incidents involving between 4 and 21 skeletons per case.
In 2023, media reports highlighted a theft spree in Dinajpur and Gaibandha where 32 skeletons were reported missing over a 15-day period.
Why it’s happening
Bangladesh does not have a regulated market or legal supply chain for human skeletons. Yet, acquisition of skeletons has long been a challenge for medical and dental students, who need them for anatomy classes.
Previous reports show that medical students and teachers have urged the government to create a legal avenue for accessing skeletons or to import them to avoid reliance on the black market.
Stories from years past reveal similar patterns.
In 2016, police seized about 40 human skulls and bones stored in a rented house in Dhaka, with investigators suspecting syndicates active in grave theft and black-market sales to students.
Investigators in the latest case reported that skeleton collectors targeted unprotected graveyards lacking security, lighting, or CCTV cameras in districts such as Gazipur, Mymensingh, Sherpur, and Jamalpur. Graveyards with few visitors or informal burial lots appear especially vulnerable.
Historical records reflect that similar gang activity has occurred before. In 2016, locals in Trishal (Mymensingh) reported organised gangs removing skeletons from multiple graves over several days, prompting community members to guard sites at night.
Barrister Mashiur Rahman, a Supreme Court lawyer, told the New Nation that Bangladesh’s Penal Code and Burial Grounds Regulation Act provide for protection of burial sites and public health, but there is no clear legal framework regulating the possession or trade of human skeletal remains.
“This legal gap, compounded by educational demand and lack of regulated supply, has allowed black markets to flourish.”
Medical Education Specialist Dr. Sagar Debnath, said, “Students in anatomy courses require access to human skeletons for practical learning, but with no sanctioned system to supply them domestically, we see them turn to informal sources often unknowingly supporting illegal syndicates.”
Forensic anthropologist Dr. Robiul Akbar, said, “The trade of human remains without consent or documentation raises profound ethical and legal issues. It violates the dignity of the deceased and can undermine public trust in burial practices.”
