Bodies of woman, man found as water hyacinth cleared in Meghna

River police have recovered the bodies of an unidentified woman and a man from the Meghna River in the Char Ramjanbeg area of Gazaria upazila in Munshiganj. The bodies were found floating with water hyacinth on Sunday afternoon. Locals claimed to have seen three bodies floating side by side in the same location. However, police have so far recovered two bodies. The third body could not be found.

Local residents said a foul smell was emanating from a large cluster of water hyacinth on the riverbank on Sunday morning. When the water hyacinth was cleared, they saw three bodies lying side by side. They were believed to be two men and a woman. Panic spread among locals after the news broke. Later, police were informed through the national emergency service 999 and arrived at the scene to launch a recovery operation.

Mohammad Monir Hossain, a resident of Char Ramjanbeg area, said he went to the Meghna riverbank around 7:30am to cut grass for his goats. There he saw several bodies floating with water hyacinth and called 999 to inform police.

Upon receiving the news, Additional Deputy Inspector General of Police of Narayanganj Region's River Police Md Alamgir Hossain, Gazaria River Police Inspector Sarojit Kumar Ghosh and other police members went to the scene. They searched through the cluster of water hyacinth and first recovered a man's body. Later, a woman's body was found about 50 metres away from that location. However, the third body that locals had mentioned could not be found despite a long search.

The identities of the two recovered bodies could not be immediately ascertained. Police initially believe the bodies may be from five to seven days ago. The woman's hands and feet were found tied. Meanwhile, no such signs of hands and feet being tied were found on the man's body. Considering that the woman's hands and feet were tied, police initially suspect the incident may be a murder. However, nothing can be confirmed until the identities and the actual cause of death are determined.

Additional DIG of Narayanganj Region's River Police Md Alamgir Hossain said information about floating bodies in the river was received around 11am through the national emergency service 999. Later, police recovered two bodies from the scene. Locals have reported seeing another body floating, which has not yet been found. The two recovered bodies are believed to be from five to seven days ago, he said. They do not appear to be bodies of local residents at this point, he added.

The Char Kishoreganj area of Sonargaon upazila in Narayanganj is located near the scene. Local resident Nizam Uddin said they had never seen three bodies floating in the same spot like this before. He suspects the third body may have drifted elsewhere due to the river current. He said it needs to be investigated whether three people were murdered and their bodies dumped there, or whether the bodies drifted there from elsewhere.

Police said work is underway to identify the recovered woman and man. Members of the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) and Coast Guard are assisting in this effort. At the same time, authorities are checking whether any more bodies are floating in that part of the Meghna River. Police said more information about the cause of death will be available after the post-mortem and identification of the two bodies.