Youth's body found hanging on Sylhet border returned after 25hrs

The body of Zakaria Ahmad (23), a Bangladeshi youth found hanging from a tree branch inside Indian territory near the Utma border of Companiganj Upazila in Sylhet, was handed over to Bangladeshi authorities 25 hours later by the Indian Border Security Force (BSF). The handover took place on Friday, during a flag meeting between the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and the BSF around midday.

Zakaria was a resident of Lamagram village near the border in Uttar Ronikhai Union, Companiganj Upazila, and the son of Alauddin.

Ataur Rahman, a former member of the local Bonpur village council, said the BGB-BSF meeting began around 12:30 PM, and the body was transferred to the Bangladeshi side by 1 PM. He added that Zakaria had recently married and had no known disputes or conflicts with anyone in the area. His death remains mysterious.

Locals discovered Zakaria’s body hanging from a tree branch near border pillar 1257/20 around 11 AM last Thursday. Since the body was located inside India, it could not be recovered until nightfall. Indian police and BSF personnel retrieved the body later that night. Despite a request for a flag meeting on the same day by the BGB, the BSF initially did not respond, resulting in the body remaining hanging for approximately 10-12 hours. The body was finally returned after today’s flag meeting.

Uzair Al Mahmud, Officer-in-Charge of Companyganj Police Station, confirmed that a preliminary post-mortem report has been prepared. The initial assessment suggests suicide, but a full autopsy is needed to determine the exact cause of death. The body was sent to Osmani Medical College Hospital for autopsy this afternoon.

Lieutenant Colonel Nazmul Haque, commander of the 48 BGB, stated that after the flag meeting, the body was received from the BSF and handed over to local police.