Police have recovered the gruesome, dismembered remains of a customs official from a pond in the Fulbaria upazila of Mymensingh, ten days after he mysteriously vanished.

The deceased, identified as 40-year-old Abu Raihan Talukdar (also known locally as Rakib Raihan Talukdar), was employed as a sepoy in the Customs Security Branch at Kamalapur in Dhaka. His remains, severed into 15 distinct pieces, were discovered on Sunday morning floating inside three travel bags and a cloth sack in a pond adjacent to his ancestral residence in Swaitpur Uttarpara village, situated within Enayetpur Union.

According to family members, Mr Talukdar—who lived alone following his divorce—frequently visited his village home at weekends to care for his elderly mother. He had arrived from Dhaka on the evening of 23 July. The following day, Friday, he left the house, stating that he was returning to his post in the capital. Relatives reported that Raju, a teenager employed by Mr Talukdar as a domestic caretaker, and Raju’s friend Jitul had volunteered to accompany him a short distance on his journey. Mr Talukdar was not seen alive again.

Two days later, colleagues in Dhaka contacted the family to report that Mr Talukdar had failed to report for duty and that his mobile phone remained switched off. Following an exhaustive search, the victim’s elder brother, Md Nurul Islam, lodged a formal general diary (GD) with the Fulbaria Police Station on 27 July.

Suspicion has fallen heavily upon the caretaker, Raju, and his associate Jitul, both of whom absconded immediately following Mr Talukdar’s disappearance. Family members revealed that Mr Talukdar had generously taken Raju into his home, funding the youth’s education alongside providing a monthly allowance and shelter.

The breakthrough in the investigation occurred on Sunday morning when local villagers spotted suspicious packages floating in the pond and alerted the authorities. Police retrieved the bags and discovered the dismembered remains, which officers believe had decomposed and surfaced after spending several days submerged in the water. Days prior, on Friday, police naval divers had recovered Mr Talukdar’s missing key ring from the nearby Bazuya River in the Anantapur area.

Rashedul Hasan, the Officer-in-Charge of Fulbaria Police Station, confirmed that preliminary investigations point to a premeditated murder. Investigators suspect the perpetrators killed Mr Talukdar, severed his body into 15 fragments to conceal the crime, and concealed the remains in weighted bags before dumping them into the water.

The remains have been transferred to the Mymensingh Medical College morgue for an autopsy. A multi-pronged police operation is currently under way to trace and apprehend the fleeing suspects and establish the precise motive behind the brutal murder.