During questioning, Dwip said, ‘Some people chased us, Tahsif jumped into river and I fled’

A motorcycle has been found in an area near the spot at Rajbari Ghat on the Turag River in Dhaka where the floating body of former Air Force officer KM Tahsif Souri, 28, was recovered.

Ahmed Shahriar Reza Dwip, a younger friend of Tahsif who has been taken into custody in connection with his death, told police during questioning that they were talking at the scene when some people chased them. Tahsif jumped into the river, while he (Dwip) fled.

The Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) recovered the motorcycle late on Thursday night. The agency said it was found in the Mazar Basti area of Tongi, 50 yards from where the body was recovered.

PBI officials said the Rajbari Ghat area was known as a drug hotspot. They suspect Tahsif may have fallen into the river and drowned while fleeing drug dealers who were chasing him.

Mohammad Abu Yusuf, special superintendent of police at the PBI headquarters’ Law and Media Wing, told Prothom Alo on Friday morning that they were checking whether the recovered motorcycle belonged to Tahsif. However, their initial assumption was that it was his.

The recovered motorcycle has been taken to the capital’s Uttarkhan police station. The PBI is assisting the river police with the investigation.

More than one PBI superintendents told Prothom Alo on Friday that teams conducted raids at various locations throughout Thursday night with Dwip. During questioning, he said, “We were talking there [at the scene]. Some people chased us. Tahsif jumped into the river, while I fled.”

Dwip also claimed that those chasing them were police personnel. The PBI said it was verifying this information, along with other details obtained from Dwip during questioning.

Tahsif left his home in Uttara area of the capital on Tuesday evening. At 1:35 am that night, he sent his mother a voice message on her mobile phone saying he was on his way home. But he never came back.

The following afternoon, Wednesday, the River Police recovered Tahsif’s body from the Turag River near Rajabari Ghat, in the area covered by Uttarkhan Police Station.

Tahsif had taken his motorcycle with him when he left home. After his body was recovered, his family said they could not find the motorcycle.

The PBI has now said that a motorcycle was recovered from the Mazar Basti area of Tongi, near Rajbari Ghat.

Before Tahsif went missing, CCTV footage showed him with a man. Family members identified the man as Dwip.

The PBI took Dwip into custody in connection with Tahsif’s death. He was taken from a house in the Mohammadpur area of the capital late on Thursday night.

The PBI said Dwip had been taken to its Metro North office in connection with Tahsif’s death. As the two had gone out together and were together on the night before the incident, investigators were questioning him about it.

CCTV footage shows Tahsif meeting the man in front of a garage at the Rajuk Uttara Apartment Project in Sector 18 of Uttara on Tuesday night. After shaking hands, they left the area on two separate motorcycles.

The CCTV footage shows that there was no number plate on the back of Tahsif’s motorcycle. The recovered motorcycle also has no number plate.

A post-mortem examination of Tahsif’s body was conducted Thursday at the morgue of Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College. The body was later handed over to his family. After the funeral prayer, he was buried in Uttara that same day.

Tahsif’s father, KM Eneyetul Karim, has expressed suspicion over his son’s death. He said it was not suicide and that the government would be able to identify those responsible if it investigated the matter.