Investigators have yet to establish how former Bangladesh Air Force flight lieutenant KM Tahsif Souri died, as fresh evidence and conflicting accounts from a younger acquaintance raise further questions about his final hours.
Officials have found several inconsistencies in statements made by Ahmed Shahriar Reza Dwip, a younger acquaintance who called Tahsif out of his home on the night he disappeared.
Additional Inspector General of Police Mostafa Kamal said investigators received important information from the suspect.
“We have obtained several important pieces of information after taking Dwip into custody. However, we are not disclosing them at this stage in the interest of the investigation,” he said.
Investigators are examining CCTV footage from several locations near the spot where Dwip claims Tahsif jumped into the Turag River.
Questions remain over why Dwip returned home alone, how Tahsif ended up in the river, and who exactly had given chase to the two men.
The Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) said it was verifying Dwip’s statements and examining whether Tahsif had been murdered.
Tahsif went missing after leaving his Uttara home on Tuesday night. River police recovered his body from the Turag near Rajabari Ghat in Uttarkhan on Wednesday afternoon.
His motorcycle was also missing.
Acting on information provided by Dwip, PBI recovered a black motorcycle without a number plate from the Mazar slum area of Tongi on Friday morning.
Although it is of the same model as the one Tahsif used, investigators have yet to establish its ownership or how it reached the area.
Initially, Dwip told the media that he and Tahsif had visited a motorcycle workshop before having dinner at a restaurant in Ruap Complex.
He claimed they had separated after dinner to attend to personal matters and that he had subsequently returned home. According to his account, they had been together until 11:30pm.
However, Dwip gave investigators a different account.
PBI Headquarters Superintendent of Police Abu Yusuf said Dwip had claimed they were talking near the river when several people chased them. According to Dwip, Tahsif then jumped into the water while he fled.
Investigators are examining why the two were allegedly together near the river at around 2am after Dwip had earlier said they had separated near House Building at around midnight.
PBI officers took Dwip to the Mazar slum area of Tongi on Friday afternoon, where he identified the location at which Tahsif had allegedly jumped into the river.
A PBI superintendent described the area as a known “drug spot”.
According to the officer, Dwip claimed that a police team had chased them, prompting him to hide behind boundary pillar No 29 of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority.
Tahsif allegedly jumped into the river, while Dwip left the area and returned home at around 2:30am.
PBI Additional Deputy Inspector General Md Enayet Hossain Mannan said Dwip had also claimed that the two fled after spotting two men who looked like police officers near the river.
Investigators are checking whether the men had been, in fact, police personnel in uniform and whether they had been on duty at the time.
Mannan stressed that none of Dwip’s statements were being accepted without verification.
“We are investigating to uncover the truth. We are trying to find answers as to why they were there, if he [Tahsif] was killed, and if so, whether it was an accident or suicide,” he said.
“Dwip said that the previous day they had separated near House Building at around midnight and gone off in different directions,” he added. “There was no further communication between them. So why did they return to that area at around 2am, and why did they go there on a motorcycle late at night? These matters are being investigated.”
Tongi West Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mostafizur Rahman said police were also examining the alleged chase.
“We have also heard that Flight Lieutenant Tahsif jumped into the water after being chased by police. We are examining which police team chased them and why,” he said.
Tahsif’s father, AKM Enayetul Karim, rejected the account that his son had jumped into the river while being chased.
He said Tahsif was a trained swimmer and expressed concern that attempts were being made to divert attention from what had actually happened.
“My son knew how to swim. He was a pilot. They had to complete swimming courses for which he had been certified,” he said.
Asked whether he suspected a cover-up or conspiracy, he replied, “That is what comes to mind naturally. Why would people chase him? Why would anyone chase him?”
As of Friday afternoon, Tahsif’s family had not filed a case.
His father said, “We will discuss it as a family and then make a decision.”
He further added, “I believe the government will certainly demonstrate a sense of responsibility and act with utmost sincerity in this matter.”
River Police Chief Additional Inspector General Md Rezaul Karim said police would file a case and take legal action if the family did not do so.
Uttarkhan Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md Habib said, “I called Tahsif Souri’s father and asked him to come to the police station to file a case. So far, it has been decided that a case will be filed at our police station.”
