Burnt police van finally found

A police van allegedly used to burn six people, including one who was reportedly alive, during the student-people movement on 5 August has been recovered in Ashulia, Savar, nearly two years after the incident.

The van, which had reportedly been kept out of sight for an extended period, was discovered during a land eviction drive in the Baipail Trimohani area on Thursday morning.

The drive was conducted under the leadership of Mohibullah Akon, assistant commissioner (land) of the Ashulia Revenue Circle and an executive magistrate. While authorities were clearing a temporary police dumping area, the burnt-out van was found.

News of the discovery quickly spread, prompting “July warriors” of the Anti-Discrimination Movement and local residents to gather in the Baipail area. They demanded that the vehicle be preserved as a historical witness to the July mass uprising and the violence in Ashulia.

Activist Abidul Afif, who was present at the scene, said, “In front of Ashulia Police Station on 5 August during the July mass uprising, six of our brothers were burned to death, and one of them was alive. We have been looking for this vehicle ever since.”

He said they had learned that the vehicle was apparently being moved from the dumping area to another location.

“Our demand is that this van be preserved immediately in the July Museum as a memorial to the brutality in Ashulia and the violence committed by Awami League activists and police,” he said.

Attempts to contact Savar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Saiful Islam and Ashulia Police Station Officer-in-Charge Tariqul Islam for comments were unsuccessful.

However, Shahidul, officer-in-charge of the Dhaka district reserve force who was responsible for security during the eviction drive, said the vehicle could not simply be handed over.

“The vehicle is court evidence and an important part of the case. To take it, an order from the Ministry of Law, approval from the Ministry of Home Affairs and a court directive will be required. Until instructions arrive, the next steps will be taken in line with the legal process,” he said.

According to accounts of the incident, at around 3pm on 5 August, five people were shot dead in front of Ashulia Police Station, while another person was seriously injured by gunfire.

One person who was reportedly still alive and the bodies of five others were initially loaded onto a van before police allegedly transferred them to a police vehicle. The six people were then allegedly set on fire inside the police vehicle.

The recovery of the burnt-out van nearly two years after the incident has drawn renewed attention to the events in Ashulia and sparked demands for the vehicle to be preserved as evidence and a memorial.