Body of Sohel, Missing for Five Days After Falling From a Launch, Found on a Meghna Char and Identified by His Brother
River police have recovered the body of a young man named Sohel Bepari, 24, from the bank of the Meghna river in Hizla, Barisal. The body was recovered around 1am on Thursday night from the Mandarbhanga area of Arakul village in Hizla Gaurabdi union.
Sohel had gone missing on October 18 after falling into the river from a launch in the Chandpur area. His family had found no trace of him for five days.
Sohel Bepari was the son of the late Anwar Hossain Bepari of Arab Ali Beparikandi village in Ward 6 of Sakhipur police station area in Bhedarganj upazila of Shariatpur.
Police and family sources said that on October 17 Sohel travelled to Dhaka by launch from Narsinghapur ferry terminal in Sakhipur with his friend Rabiul Islam. The next night, October 18, they set off by launch from Dhaka back toward Narsinghapur. On the way, Sohel fell into the river in the Chandpur area and went missing.
On October 19, Sohel's family filed a general diary (GD) at Chandpur Sadar Police Station. The GD is under investigation at the Alubazar river police outpost in Chandpur.
According to the Hizla river police outpost, around 12:30am on Thursday night members of Sohel's family called the national emergency service 999 to report a body floating on a char of the Meghna river at Mandarbhanga in Arakul village.
Sub-Inspector Shahzada of the Hizla river police outpost then went to the scene and recovered the body around 1am. Sohel's elder brother Azizul Islam and relatives identified the body at the time.
Md Yasinul Haque, in-charge of the Hizla river police outpost, said: 'A general diary has been filed over the recovery of the body. The body has been sent to Barisal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital for post-mortem examination.'
Police said the cause of death will be clearer once the post-mortem report is received. The investigation into the earlier GD filed at Chandpur Sadar Police Station is also continuing.
The incident has again brought forward the long-running discussion about passenger safety in launch travel on waterways. The recovery of the body five days after he fell from a launch during a night journey has ended the family's wait, but questions about passenger safety remain.
