Are rivers now a 'safe haven' for missing bodies? 2064 recovered in 5 years

The statistics of the Naval Police show that the country's rivers are gradually becoming a 'safe haven' for missing bodies.

According to the Naval Police, a total of 2,064 bodies have been recovered from various rivers in the country in the last five years (2021-2025). Investigators believe that a large portion of these bodies are victims of murder.

Recently, several unidentified bodies have been recovered from the Buriganga, Shitalakshya and surrounding rivers. Many of the bodies were decomposed and deformed, making it impossible to identify them, resulting in burials as unclaimed.

According to the Naval Police, 1,425 of the recovered bodies were identified, but 639 could not be identified. In many cases, DNA was preserved, but it was not possible to confirm the identity.

According to statistics, 318 bodies were recovered from the river in 2021, 360 in 2022, 405 in 2023, 440 in 2024, and 541 in 2025—which is continuously increasing.

According to experts, many bodies are deliberately thrown into the river to destroy evidence of murders. In many cases, investigations are complicated due to the current of the water, decomposition, and destruction of evidence.

According to crime analysts, criminals are choosing the river to hide bodies by taking advantage of the weak surveillance along the river and the opportunity to use sparsely populated areas.

The naval police said that it has been possible to unravel the mystery of a significant part of the recovered cases. However, the investigation of many murders is being delayed due to lack of identification.

Experts say that it will be difficult to reduce such incidents unless specific risk points on the river are identified, increased surveillance, and social awareness are raised.