1 grave found empty, 23 other WWII Japanese soldiers’ remains repatriated
Each grave was carefully excavated. However, no remains were found in one of the graves, Bir Protik Retired Lieutenant Colonel Kazi Sajjad Ali Zahir says
Excavation work at the Mainamati War Cemetery in Cumilla, has revealed the remains of 23 World War II Japanese soldiers from among the 24 buried there.
"Each grave was carefully excavated. However, no remains were found in one of the graves," Bir Protik Retired Lieutenant Colonel Kazi Sajjad Ali Zahir, who is assisting the Japanese team told The Business Standard today (23 November).
The excavation, which was scheduled to end on 24 November, was concluded on Friday afternoon. Among the 24 graves, remains of various parts of the bodies of soldiers were found in 23.
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A seven-member forensic team from Japan has taken these remains to Dhaka, he added.
The Lt colonel further said, "Even after 81 years, we have found some skeletons, skulls, and other parts of the bodies of 23 soldiers.
"It is assumed that the soldier whose grave was found empty was very young. We hope that the forensic team will get positive results from the examination of the remains found."
The excavation work began on 13 November.
At the Mainamati War Cemetery, located near the Cumilla-Sylhet regional highway within the Cumilla Cantonment, 738 soldiers from 13 countries who died in WWII fighting alongside the British in Burma from 1941 to 1945 were buried.
Previously, in 1962, a soldier's remains were taken to the United States by his relatives, leaving the remains of 737 soldiers.
In November each year, high commissioners and representatives of Commonwealth nations pay their respects at the cemetery.
On 9 November this year, diplomats from 13 countries laid floral tributes in remembrance of the fallen soldiers.
