SAJJAD HOSSAIN

At least 631 people lost their lives and over 19,200 were injured during the anti-discrimination students’ movement from July 15 to August 5, according to a health ministry report.

The report said over 450 people were brought dead, while 181 individuals succumbed to their injuries while undergoing treatment during the course of 21 days.

The health ministry formed the committee on August 15 to compile a comprehensive list of casualties. The committee submitted its report to the ministry on Thursday.

Among the injured, over 16,000 have received treatment from government hospitals across the country, while around 3,000 have been treated in private facilities.

Muhammad Humayun Kabir, former senior secretary of the health service division and head of the committee, said, “Collecting data from private hospitals is challenging as they don’t strictly preserve data as government hospitals do. In some cases, victims’ family members hid registry entries out of fear.”

Ministry officials said the current draft list, which is undergoing data cleaning by ministry officials, will be made public on the website, where additional information may be updated.

According to the report, a significant portion of the injured individuals received treatment in government hospitals.

However, no information has been provided to the government regarding those who may have been treated in private clinics in the Barishal, Khulna, Mymensingh, and Rangpur divisions.

Dhaka division recorded the highest number of injuries, with over 11,000 people. Chattogram had the second highest number of injuries, with over nearly 2000 people hurt in the clashes.

Meanwhile, Dhaka division had the highest number of fatalities, with 477 deaths, while the Barishal reported the lowest, with one death.

Chattogram and Khulna reported 43 and 39 deaths, respectively.

Among those hospitalised, 3,048 sustained serious injuries, requiring surgery, and at least 525 people were left with permanent physical disabilities as a consequence of their injuries.