Munshiganj (South) Correspondent 

In a shocking incident, 14 skeletons were reportedly stolen overnight from a graveyard  in Tongibari upazila’s Jashlong area of Munshiganj. 

A gang of thieves allegedly dug up several old graves and took away the remains. Local residents stated that the theft occurred during the night of last Tuesday. The matter came to light around 9 AM on Wednesday when locals went to the cemetery for a burial.Upon discovering the disturbed graves, hundreds of locals gathered at the scene and demanded the immediate arrest of those responsible.Panir Molla, a resident of Bhiti Maldha village, said, “My mother passed away yesterday. When we came to dig her grave this morning, we saw that several nearby graves had already been dug up. After notifying others, we found that around 16 graves had been disturbed. I demand exemplary punishment for those responsible and urge the authorities to take steps to prevent such incidents in the future.”Local resident Suman Molla added, “My father's grave was also tampered with. The skull was stolen, though the rest of the body remains.”Eyewitnesses mentioned that a few relatives had come to the cemetery early in the morning for grave visitation and discovered several disturbed graves. Upon informing others, they found a total of 16 graves had been dug up. Akhtar Sheikh, general secretary of the cemetery management committee, said, “When I arrived at the site, I saw several graves had been dug. Skeletons were missing from at least 7 or 8 of them.”Abu Salam Sheikh, member of Ward 1 of the Jashlong Union Parishad, said, “I came to the cemetery upon receiving the news and found that skeletons had been stolen from 14 graves. Police have been informed.”Following the news of the theft, hundreds of people flocked to the cemetery. Several relatives expressed anger and grief, stating that such an incident had never occurred before in this area and that it is deeply disturbing. They urged authorities to take strict action to prevent such occurrences in the future.OC  of Tongibari Police Station, Md. Mohidul Islam, said, “Police have been dispatched after receiving the report. Legal action will be taken.”