Police have retrieved the body of a 60-year-old local Awami League politician from a roadside ditch near his homestead in Brahmanbaria’s Kasba Upazila, ending a two-day search following his sudden disappearance. Law enforcement personnel recovered the remains of Nayeb Ali on Friday afternoon from Dhajnagar, a border-adjacent settlement in Gopinathpur Union.
The deceased, son of the late Abdur Rahim, was an established community figure who had previously served as the general secretary for the Ward No. 8 unit of the Awami League within Gopinathpur Union.
Family accounts indicate that Ali stepped out of his residence at around half past nine on Wednesday night following dinner. He intended to carry out a routine inspection of a banana orchard situated next to his property. When he failed to return later that night, relatives grew concerned and mounted an extensive search throughout neighbouring farmlands, pathways, and orchards, though their initial efforts yielded no sign of his whereabouts.
Fears of foul play escalated when searchers found several of Ali’s everyday personal belongings scattered near the perimeter of the plantation. Guided by the location of these dropped items, family members broadened their search to surrounding waterways and low-lying ground. At approximately eleven o’clock on Friday morning, relatives wading through an adjacent waterlogged ditch discovered his submerged body. Those present at the scene noted significant signs of physical trauma, reporting visible blunt-force injuries, abrasions, and extensive bruising across his back and torso.
The victim’s younger brother, Monir Hossain, a retired member of the armed forces, claimed the death was a calculated homicide. According to Hossain, Ali had recently taken a prominent role in local community efforts to disrupt illicit drug rings operating across the border area. Relatives believe narcotics syndicates, possibly working alongside local political rivals, may have orchestrated his abduction and killing in retaliation for his vocal stance against drug trafficking in the village. The family has formally called upon the district police to identify the culprits and pursue strict legal proceedings.
Ali Mohammad Rashed, Officer-in-Charge of Kasba Police Station, stated that law enforcement officers were dispatched promptly after being alerted by residents. Police secured the site, completed inquest formalities, and catalogued the visible bodily injuries. The remains were subsequently transported to the Brahmanbaria District Sadar Hospital mortuary for a post-mortem examination, which will establish the precise circumstances and cause of death as homicide investigators proceed with inquiries.
