The body of former Bangladesh Air Force Flight Lieutenant KM Tahsif Sauri (also spelled Souri), 28, was recovered from the Turag River near Rajabari Ghat on Wednesday afternoon, a day after he left home and never returned.
According to his father, KM Enayetul Karim Helal, speaking to Jago News at their Uttara home “Korobi,” Tahsif spent the entire day of October 27 with his mother, including shopping. In the evening, a junior friend named Dwip and a younger brother called him downstairs. Tahsif told his mother, “Dwip is coming, let me go talk to him,” and went down. He never came back.
At 1:35 a.m., he sent his mother a message saying “Ma, aschi” (“Mom, I’m coming”). The family could not locate him afterward. When the father went to Turag Police Station on October 28 afternoon, officers initially reassured him there was no adverse news. Later, around 5:15 p.m., the Officer-in-Charge of Uttarkhan Police Station confirmed the body’s recovery and identity.
Tongi River Police recovered the body around 4:00–4:30 p.m. on Wednesday after a call to the national emergency number 999 reported a body floating in the river. An inquest (surathal) report was prepared, and the body was sent to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College morgue for autopsy. Police said there were no visible external injury marks on the body. He was wearing a black shirt and white trousers; a watch was on his wrist and an iPhone in his pocket, which was used to establish his identity. The father noted that Tahsif had never visited the Rajabari Ghat area.
Enayetul Karim described his son as extremely polite and sociable, with good relations with both seniors and juniors. The family was informed that Tahsif had been dismissed from the Air Force on disciplinary grounds.
After leaving service, he worked with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), Netra News, and most recently Virgo Tobacco.
The father said Tahsif never reported specific threats, though he occasionally mentioned feeling somewhat apprehensive. The family does not know who is responsible for his death.
Tahsif had been sent into forced/compulsory retirement from the Bangladesh Air Force in August 2024 (around the time of or shortly after the political upheaval). The Jamaat-centric newspaper Amar Desh later labelled him a RAW (Indian intelligence) agent and blamed him for filming or spreading the video of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s departure from the country by aircraft on August 5, 2024. (ISPR subsequently described related claims in the Amar Desh report as misleading, stating the officers were retired under due process under Air Force rules in different circumstances, unrelated to the allegations.)
The cause of death remains unconfirmed pending the autopsy report. No case had been filed as of Thursday morning, according to police. A cousin has publicly alleged murder linked to the video.