Shillong: A prominent leader of Awami League – former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s party – was found dead in Jaintia Hills’ district in Meghalaya near the India-Bangladesh border. Ishaque Ali Khan Panna had reportedly fled Bangladesh after Hasina’s government collapsed.
According to Meghalaya police, the decomposed body of Awami League leader was found from a betelnut plantation in the district bordering Bangladesh. The body was discovered on August 26 evening, around 1.5 km from the India-Bangladesh border, officials said. Panna was identified through his passport he was carrying.
Bangladeshi leader was on run after fall of Hasina govt
Panna, a former general secretary of Bangladesh Chhatra League and a prominent member of the Awami League from Pirojpur district in Bangladesh, had fled the country and had been on the run since August 5 when the Sheikh Hasina government fell following widespread violent protests over job quota system.
Bangladesh plunged into political crisis last month after the country saw widespread violent protests. The stir forced Sheikh Hasina to resign as Prime Minister and flee the country. The protests initially began as an agitation against a job quota scheme but weeks later turned into a mass movement demanding Hasina’s ouster from power. Hasina fled the country and came to India.
Murder or cardiac arrest?
The Awami League leader was allegedly strangled, sources said, citing his postmortem report. However, initial reports suggested that Panna could have suffered a heart attack while trying to cross the border. Some reports also claimed that he might have been involved in a shooting incident with the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), police said. SP Giri Prasad on Wednesday said that the body has been sent to Khliehriat Civil Hospital for further identification.