JHENAIDAH — A body recovered from the Ichamati river on the Poliyanpur border in Mahespur upazila of Jhenaidah district has been identified as that of an Afghan citizen, Hashmat Mohammadi. The identification was confirmed by his US-based brother, Mohammad Iri, after seeing photographs of the body. A second brother, Mir Wasi, who lives in London, has arrived in Bangladesh to claim the body.
According to local sources, on April 13, residents spotted a body floating in the Ichamati river on the Poliyanpur border in Mahespur upazila and informed the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) camp and Mahespur police station.
Police recovered the body and sent it to Jhenaidah Sadar Hospital for an autopsy. Police and the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) took fingerprints and attempted to identify the body through national ID records, but no match was found, and the body was treated as unidentified. It was handed over to the Jhenaidah Anjuman-e-Mufidul Islam for burial, and the organisation buried the body on April 14.
Hashmat Mohammadi’s brother Mohammad Ira, who lives in the United States, identified the body as his brother’s from photographs circulated on social media. He contacted Ahsan, an acquaintance from Bogura in Bangladesh who lives in the United States. Ahsan was unable to pinpoint the location but suspected it could be at the Chougachha border in Jashore. Using the internet, he contacted Dr. Saidur Rahman Imon at Chougachha hospital, who put him in touch with journalist Rahidul Islam Khan.
The brother said Hashmat had most recently lived in Italy. Holding an Italian passport, he travelled around Europe trading in ring stones.
On April 10, the brother had last spoken to Hashmat over mobile phone (01790851785 / +919330085853) through a Bangladeshi broker known as Masud. Masud said Hashmat was at the Bangladesh-India border. On April 11, Hashmat told his US-based brother he was near the Ichamati river at the Bangladesh border.
After that, the family lost contact with him, and Masud’s phone was also turned off, Mohammad Ira said. A few days later, Masud called the brother and told him that Hashmat had died, advising him to contact Bangladeshi police. Masud also sent two photographs of the body from his mobile phone. There has been no further contact since.
On April 22, Hashmat Mohammadi’s brother spoke about the matter again through Ahsan, the Bangladeshi expatriate in the United States. Ahsan contacted Chougachha government hospital via the internet, and Dr. Imon at the hospital provided the mobile number of journalist Rahidul Khan. With Khan’s help, the brother spoke to Sub-Inspector Tipu Sultan of Mahespur police station and confirmed preliminarily that the body was his brother’s.
Mir Wasi then arrived in Bangladesh from London on Friday, April 24, to claim the body. His wife, Zohura Hashmi, also travelled with him.
Local newspapers published reports about the recovered body on Thursday. After the reports appeared, various intelligence agencies began serious investigations.
Mir Wasi contacted journalist Rahidul Islam Khan on arrival in Dhaka. Following Khan’s guidance, the family later went to Mahespur police station to meet with police officials.
Jhenaidah Additional Superintendent of Police Sayem Yusuf, journalists Babul Akhter, Asaduzzaman and Azizur Rahman, and members of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) and the District Special Branch (DSB) were present. Sayem Yusuf collected information from the family and explained the procedures for taking the body.
They were instructed to complete the process through the Afghan embassy and left for Dhaka on Friday afternoon.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report