Photo: Collected
The body river police recovered from the Turag River is that of former Bangladesh Air Force Flight Lieutenant Tahsif. It was found the day after he went missing.
Uttarkhan Police Station duty officer Shahinur Zaman shared the news this (Thursday) morning. According to him, members of the Tongi river police outpost recovered the body from the river on Wednesday afternoon. It was then sent to Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital.
On the time and place of the recovery, Inspector Firoz Uddin of the Tongi river police outpost said that after a call came in to the national emergency service 999, the body was recovered from the Rajabari Ghat area of the Turag at around 4:30pm on Wednesday.
River police said the body was unidentified at the time of recovery, and an inquest report was prepared in that state. According to police, the man was aged around 28. He was wearing a black shirt and white pyjamas and had a light beard. He had a watch on his wrist, and an iPhone was found in his pocket. Through that iPhone, he was identified as former Air Force Flight Lieutenant Tahsif Souri. His home is in Sector 18 of Uttara in the capital.
There is discussion that Tahsif filmed the video of then prime minister Sheikh Hasina leaving the country by aircraft on 5 August 2024. After that, around 28 August that year, Tahsif and four other Air Force officers were dismissed from service.
However, no independent source could be found to verify this information.
Background
According to Abdullah Al Mamun, Superintendent of Police of the river police’s Dhaka region, K M Tahsif Souri had been missing since the night of Tuesday, 27 October — Manab Zamin and Shomoyer Alo reported on 29 October. According to Dainik Adin’s 29 October report, his family had filed a general diary (GD) over his disappearance. Manab Zamin, citing Inspector Firoz Uddin, reported that the cause of death will be confirmed only after the post-mortem report arrives; the SP also could not give any information on the cause. According to Views Bangladesh, river police have not confirmed social media claims about his filming the video, and no confirmed information has emerged on whether his death is linked to that video.
Sources differ on how he left the service. The original report says Tahsif was dismissed; however, the Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate (ISPR) said on 4 August last year that he was retired following institutional rules, in a different context, and without any allegation — Khobor Sangjog reported.
The numbers
Sources also differ on his age. River police’s inquest put it at around 28, while Dainik Adin’s 29 October report gave his age as 33.
