The body of KM Tahsif Souri, a 28-year-old retired Bangladesh Air Force flight lieutenant, was recovered from the Turag River in Dhaka on Wednesday, October 28, a day after he was reported missing. Police from the Tongi River Police Outpost pulled the body from the water near Rajabari Ghat. He was first treated as an unidentified person and was identified through a mobile phone found with the body.
Souri’s name drew wide attention after reports linked him to video footage of then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina leaving the country by aircraft on August 5, 2024. The precise nature of that connection, and whether it played any role in his death, has not been verified. His family says he later lost his job in the Air Force.
According to his father, Enayetul Karim, Souri left home on Tuesday evening after receiving a call from a friend identified as Dwip. He had spent the day shopping with his mother and later messaged her that he was coming home, but never returned. His motorcycle was also missing after his disappearance.
Police have offered a differing account. The Police Bureau of Investigation said Souri jumped into the Turag River near Tongi’s Mazar slum while fleeing a police chase, while Dwip hid behind a river authority boundary marker. Police said the tide could have carried the body toward Uttarkhan, where it was found. River Police said no visible external injuries were found, and the cause of death will be determined only after the post-mortem report.
The case has become a subject of political debate in Bangladesh. Other claims circulating about Souri, including allegations of links to foreign intelligence, the circumstances of his departure from the Air Force, and comments attributed to him in earlier interviews, could not be confirmed in the reporting reviewed. Those details should be treated as unverified pending official findings and the autopsy results.