Shahinur Rahman Sona, Rajshahi

 Controversy has deepened over the irregular reburial of the remains of late Water Development Board Assistant Engineer Hefaz Uddin at the Tikapara Graveyard in Rajshahi city, exposing illegal grave exhumations and fraudulent death documentation.

The mystery escalated following an investigative report published in Dainik Sokaler Somoy on September 5, 2026. In response, the deceased's family submitted a written letter claiming that Hefaz Uddin passed away in Dhaka in March 2023 and was originally buried in Volahat upazila under Chapainawabganj district. According to the family, due to land sales and domestic disputes, they exhumed his bones and soil on July 27, 2026, to rebury them at Tikapara Graveyard. However, legal experts noted that exhuming and transporting human remains across district lines without executive magistrate authorization and formal court procedures constitutes a severe breach of criminal and administrative regulations.

Furthermore, fraudulent documentation submitted to the Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) and local ward councillor's office claimed that Hefaz Uddin died on July 10, 2026, at Manipal Hospital in Kolkata, India. Despite the family attributing the submission of fake Kolkata Municipal Corporation documents to an unidentified acquaintance, civil society members questioned how municipal authorities issued a fresh death certificate for a late-night burial without preliminary verification. Graveyard security and witnesses confirmed that the individual delivering the coffin claimed it contained a body flown in from Kolkata.

Following the publication of the investigative report, Dainik Sokaler Somoy Bureau Chief Shahinur Rahman Sona received death threats over the phone and faced slanderous campaigns. 

In response, local journalists organized a human chain under the banner of the Rajshahi Press Club and filed a GD with Boalia Police Station. Local citizens have called upon the Rajshahi Metropolitan Police (RMP) Commissioner, the Deputy Commissioner, and the Rajshahi City Corporation authorities to launch an immediate, neutral investigation into the falsified records, unauthorized exhumation, and safety threats against journalists.