No signs of injury on journalist Bibhuranjan’s Body: forensic examiner

The post-mortem examination of senior journalist Bibhuranjan Sarkar has been completed. It was carried out around 11:30 am today, Saturday, at the morgue of Munshiganj General Hospital, in the presence of police and family members.

Sheikh Md Ehsanul Islam, the resident medical officer (RMO) of Munshiganj General Hospital, who conducted the post-mortem, said that there were no external or internal injury marks found on Bibhuranjan’s body.

Speaking to reporters around 11:30 am after the post-mortem, Md Ehsanul Islam said, “The body was recovered from water. It showed early signs of decomposition. As far as we could see, there were no external or internal injuries.”

“However, we have collected some samples including teeth, hair, liver, kidneys, and stomach. These will be preserved and sent to Dhaka for further examination. Will we be able to give a final opinion only after receiving those reports,” he added.

Seventy-one-year-old Bibhuranjan Sarkar was working as senior assistant editor of the daily Ajker Patrika. He had gone missing after leaving his residence in Siddheshwari area of Dhaka, around 10:00 am on Thursday. That night, his family filed a general diary (GD) with Ramna Police Station, reporting his disappearance.

On Friday afternoon, a body was seen floating in the Meghna River in Balakir Char area of Gazaria upazila in Munshiganj. Locals then called the national emergency helpline 999. Led by Inspector Mohammad Saleh Ahmed of Kalagachhia River Police Outpost, a police team went to the spot and recovered the body at around 3:45 pm. In the evening, the body was sent to the morgue of Munshiganj General Hospital for post-mortem.

The Kalagachhia River Police Outpost took photographs of the body and sent them to Ramna Police Station in Dhaka. Police then matched the images with those provided by Bibhuranjan’s family, confirming his identity. Later, his son Hrit Sarkar and brother Chiranjan Sarkar went to Munshiganj and formally identified the body.

After completing formal procedures, the police handed over the body to family members around 1:00 pm today. Those who received it included his younger brother Chiranjan Sarkar, Ajker Patrika’s admin coordinator SM Selim, Chiranjan’s friend Tahmiduzzaman, Azma Hai, and Monon Morshed. The body was then transported in a freezer van to his Siddheshwari residence in the capital.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Chiranjan Sarkar said, “We have taken custody of my brother’s body. We will take it to his Siddheshwari home in Dhaka. After the family sees his body, the funeral rites will be performed at the Bordeshwari Kali Temple and crematorium in Sabujbagh area of Dhaka.”

On the matter of filing a case, Chiranjan Sarkar added, “We haven’t made any decision yet. After completing the funeral rites, the family will sit together, discuss, and then decide.”

Inspector Mohammad Saleh Ahmed of Kalagachhia River Police Outpost said, “The body was formally handed over to family members around 1:00 pm. An unnatural death case will be filed. If anything significant is revealed in the post-mortem, further legal action will follow.”

Visiting Bibhuranjan’s ancestral home in Nagarkumari (Uttarpara) area under Boda upazila in Panchagarh around 9:30 pm on Friday night, his 95-year-old mother, Madhobilata Sarkar, was found sitting quietly in a room.

Watching the constant stream of relatives and neighbours arriving at the house, she kept asking why they had come. Family members told her they had only come to visit and had not yet broken the news of her son’s death.

In this ancestral home in Boda, Bibhoranjan’s mother lives with three younger sons, their wives and children along with the wife and children of his late elder son.

While speaking last night, his younger brother Monoranjan Sarkar, treasurer of Boda Press Club, said, “My mother is old and unwell. That is why we haven’t told her about my brother’s death yet. But seeing so many people at the house, she keeps asking why they are here. We are thinking of informing her on Saturday before the body arrives.”