Police have recovered the body of a young expatriate two days after he went missing in Sylhet’s Companiganj upazila, intensifying concerns over the safety of Bangladeshis returning from abroad.
The deceased, Imran Ahmed, 24, son of Nazrul Islam from Lamonigaon village, was found hanging inside a bush near the Kamlaghat border area around 10pm on Tuesday, 4 February. Police have arrested three people in connection with the incident.
According to family members, Imran—who had been living in Kyrgyzstan—returned home last December and got married in January. He left home on Sunday morning for Sylhet city but did not return, prompting an anxious search by relatives. Locals later spotted the body and informed police, who recovered it from the scene.
Imran’s family has alleged that he was deliberately killed. His father filed a case naming eight suspects along with several unidentified individuals.
Officer-in-Charge of Companiganj Police Station, Shafiqul Islam Khan, said preliminary findings suggest the incident may have stemmed from prior disputes. “The investigation is ongoing, and the exact cause of death will be confirmed after the autopsy report,” he added, noting that efforts are underway to arrest the remaining suspects.
Earlier on Tuesday, 3 February, police recovered the body of another expatriate, Burhan Uddin Shafi, 59, from a wetland in Zakiganj. A resident of Jagannathpur upazila in Sunamganj, he had been staying in a rented house in Sylhet’s Ambarkhana area after returning from the United Kingdom on January 29. He went missing the following day while travelling toward Kulaura.
Zakiganj Police Station chief Abdur Razzaq said the family is preparing to file a case, and the burial will take place once relatives arrive from the UK.
Burhan had left home on the night of January 30 but never reached his destination. His sister later filed a general diary with Airport Police Station. Four days after his disappearance, police recovered his body from Konarband Haor in Sultanpur union.
The back-to-back deaths have raised alarm, as expatriates returning home appear increasingly vulnerable. Within just a week, two Bangladeshis who had come from abroad were found dead under suspicious circumstances.
Separate cases have been filed at Companiganj and Zakiganj police stations, but visible progress in the investigations remains limited, leaving many questions unanswered.