Rayerbazar graveyard hosts monthly burials of over 150 individuals.
Relatives often return to pay respects, requesting graveyard staff for grave upkeep, sometimes paying monthly or annual fees for regular maintenance.
Markers, usually with the deceased’s name and death date, provide a simple memorial.
However, one particular section, housing over a hundred graves, remains untouched by loved ones.
These graves are left neglected, earth caving in, exposing fragments of shrouds and bones upon closer inspection.
Inquiries reveal that these graves primarily belong to anonymous martyrs killed in the anti-quota movement.
Social organisation Anjuman Mofidul Islam transported these bodies to the graveyard, where they were interred without further commemoration.
Many of these unmarked graves belong to individuals who perished during the struggle for quota reform in government jobs—an uprising that led thousands to the streets at the call of prominent movement coordinators.
Now government officials, these coordinators remain unavailable, despite attempts to contact at least four of them for comment on the martyrs’ neglected graves. Even assistant coordinators declined to speak on the matter.
The anti-quota protests, which erupted three months ago with thousands joining, demanded changes to government job quotas.
Protesters braved severe crackdowns by law enforcement and the ruling government, as authorities, led by the Hasina administration, attempted to quell the movement through lethal means.
Over the past 15 years of Hasina’s rule, such resistance left thousands of young men, teenagers, and even children dead, with at least 30,000 protesters injured by gunfire.
The number of those still missing remains unknown.
Accusations have emerged of nocturnal disposal of bodies, many reburied under fabricated identities.
Corpses that languished in hospital morgues without identification were ultimately buried as nameless at Rayerbazar.
Mohammadpur’s Rayerbazar graveyard recorded the highest number of mass burials, with more than 100 unmarked bodies interred here.
Additionally, at least ten nameless martyrs were buried at Jurain graveyard.
However, authorities at the Mirpur and Azimpur cemeteries reported no burials of unidentified bodies linked to the movement.
An unvisited block for anonymous martyrs at Rayerbazar reveals two rows of graves, mostly marked by simple bamboo stakes, many already caved in, earth washed away by rain.
A lone grave in the row stands neatly maintained, marked by a small plant. According to graveyard workers, this is the grave of a Palestinian national buried on 29 July.
Anti-Discrimination Student Movement’s Health Committee reports indicate a total of 1,581 killed and over 31,000 injured in the movement, though figures remain unofficial.
On 3 November, Zahid Hossain, a coordinator with the July Smriti Foundation, shared that the movement's leaders continue to verify data on casualties and offer assistance to verified victims.
He noted ongoing efforts to document the number of missing protesters, expressing the need for media support in gathering information on mass graves.
Despite efforts to reach senior movement coordinators, several, now government advisors, did not respond, and assistants refused comment.
Abdul Kadir, an anti-discrimination movement coordinator, disclosed efforts to document the casualties and track mass graves, with interim government advisor Dr Muhammad Yunus expected to visit the graveyard in mid-November to address memorialisation.
Anjuman Mofidul Islam, which buried 69 bodies from 22 July to 26 August, received remains from hospitals and, on two occasions, from Kamalapur Railway Station and the Palestinian Embassy.
Most bodies were buried at Rayerbazar graveyard in July and August, yet the graveyard's official records lack data on many burials from early August, a period of intense violence.
While the organisation's records indicate 69 burials, graveyard officials confirmed 81 anonymous burials in July and 33 in August.
