A former Bangladesh Air Force officer, who had reportedly posted a video of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fleeing the country in 2024, was found dead under mysterious circumstances on Wednesday.
The body of KM Tahsif Souri, 28, was recovered from the Turag River on October 28, a day after he was reported missing. Wearing a black shirt and white trousers, his body was found by river police near Rajabari Ghat in Dhaka's Uttarkhan area at around 4:30 pm, following a call to the national emergency helpline, reported NDTV.
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Tahsif's death has sparked concerns over public safety in Bangladesh, with his family alleging that he had faced harassment ever since the video featuring the former prime minister was posted and that his killing was linked to the incident.
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The death has also revived questions surrounding Tahsif's dismissal from service after Amar Desh, a fringe newspaper affiliated with Jamaat-e-Islami, falsely claimed in August last year that he was an agent of India's intelligence agency, R&AW. In the aftermath of the report, the government seized his passport for two years.
A few months ago, the officer appeared on a podcast and openly criticised the newspaper, while suggesting that there was much more he could reveal but ultimately chose to keep to himself.
Tahsif is also suspected of having recorded the video showing Sheikh Hasina fleeing Bangladesh aboard a military helicopter on August 5, 2024. However, his family has maintained that he had only shared the footage in his capacity as an ordinary citizen.
According to Tahsif's family, who spoke to Bangladesh-based newspaper Prothom Alo, the former air force flight lieutenant spent the day shopping with his mother. Later that evening, he received a call from a close friend and went out to meet him.
At around 1:35 am that night, Tahsif messaged his mother, saying he was on his way home. However, he never returned. The following day, police recovered his body from the river. His father, Enayetul Karim, told the newspaper Prothom Alo that his son had no reason to visit the area where his body was discovered.
Meanwhile, Tahsif's friend told his family that they had dinner together on Tuesday night. He said he dropped Tahsif off near his home before heading back to his own house. While police have yet to confirm the circumstances surrounding Tahsif's death, his cousin, Moshfeka Jahan, alleged that he was killed over a video featuring Sheikh Hasina.
In a post written in Bangla on Facebook, Jahan alleged, "My brother was murdered. What was his fault? Sharing the video of Hasina fleeing? He did not even record it himself; he shared it as a citizen. One of his colleagues had recorded it."
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She claimed Tahsif was being constantly harassed over the video. "They were not satisfied even after sending him into retirement and subjecting him to mental torture day after day. They had to kill him," she wrote in the post.
Sheikh Hasina was flown to India aboard a Bangladeshi military aircraft in June 2024 after her government was toppled amid violent protests, and has remained in exile in the country since then. Tahsif's death comes just weeks before the former prime minister, who has been sentenced to death in absentia, is expected to return to Bangladesh.
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