Man whose body found hanging from Ctg flyover had no political ties: Police

Police recovered the body of a young man named Kawsar Ahmed from the Sagarika flyover in Chattogram city in the early hours of Tuesday (12 May).

The Chattogram Metropolitan Police has claimed that no political affiliation was found for Kawsar Ahmed. However, debate over Kawsar's political identity spread on social media after the incident.

Leaders and activists of the banned Bangladesh Chhatra League claimed that Kawsar was the liberation war affairs secretary of the Akbar Shah unit of the organisation.

Locals informed police after seeing the body hanging grom the bridge around 1:30am on Tuesday and police recovered the body around 3am. The body was handed over to the family after an autopsy, and the funeral prayers were held yesterday.

Deputy Commissioner (West) Md Alamgir Hossain today said, "No political involvement of the deceased Kawsar Ahmed has been found. We also spoke to his mother, who said her son was not involved in politics."

According to the police official, Kawsar had six cases filed against him at Akbar Shah and Pahartali police stations over charges including robbery, extortion and assault.

He said arrest warrants had been issued against him in two of the cases. Kawsar had also been arrested once in 2017 and served jail time, he added.

Alamgir Hossain further said CCTV footage from the area showed that Kawsar had gone to the flyover alone.

However, leaders and activists of the banned Chhatra League also claimed that the incident was not a suicide but a planned murder. They alleged that Kawsar was abducted and killed before his body was left on the flyover. 

Former general secretary of Chattogram city Chhatra League Nurul Azim Rony wrote on Facebook, "The body of Kawsar Ahmed, liberation war affairs secretary of Akbar Shah Thana Chhatra League, was recovered hanging from a flyover in Chattogram city. BNP-Jamaat killers brutally murdered him and left the body hanging."

"BNP-Jamaat terrorists abducted and killed Kawsar because he was involved with Chhatra League. Later, his body was left on the flyover," said Talukder Parvez Ansari, a local leader of the banned Chhatra League.

Kawsar worked as a part-time security guard at the BSRM factory. Due to his job, he lived with his family in the Akbar Shah area under Pahartali Police Station in Chattogram city.

He lived in the same house with his mother and three brothers. Kawsar was the second among the brothers.

Police initially suspect it may be a case of suicide. However, they said the actual cause of death will be known after receiving the autopsy report.

Pahartali Police Station Officer-in-Charge Muhammad Nurul Absar told The Business Standard, "The family has not filed any complaint against anyone with the police station. The family said Kawsar had been involved in drug use for a long time."

"An unnatural death case has been filed with the police station and the autopsy has been completed. If anyone files a complaint, police will investigate and take legal action," he added.