Police van used to burn six people during July Uprising recovered in Ashulia

A police van used in the infamous burning of six individuals during the 2024 July Mass Uprising in the capital's Ashulia was recovered yesterday (1 October), more than two years after it went missing.

The long-untraceable vehicle was uncovered during a land eviction drive led by Assistant Commissioner (Land) and Executive Magistrate Mohibullah Akon in the Baipail Trimohoni area under Ashulia Revenue Circle.

The burnt van came to light while workers were clearing a temporary police dumping ground on site. It has temporarily been moved to a government dumping station in Kabirpur.

As news of the recovery spread, local residents and "July fighters" of the anti-discrimination movement assembled at the site, demanding that the vehicle be permanently preserved at the July Memory Museum as a historical testament to the martyrs' sacrifice and police brutality.

Savar Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Saiful Islam and Ashulia Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Torikul Islam confirmed that higher authorities have been briefed and that July Memory Museum authorities have expressed interest in taking custody of the van for preservation.

Officer-in-Charge of the Dhaka District Reserve Force Shahidul noted that handing over the vehicle will require a Ministry of Law order, Ministry of Home Affairs approval, and court directives.

On 5 August 2024, around 3pm, police shot five people dead and critically injured another in front of Ashulia Police Station.

Officers loaded the six victims-including the living individual-onto a van and subsequently set the vehicle on fire, an atrocity that sparked intense national outrage.