Bangladesh leader from ex-PM Hasina’s party found dead in India

A major leader from deposed Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's party was found dead in India’s north-eastern state of Meghalaya. Local police said the body of Awami League party leader Ishaque Ali Khan Panna was retrieved not far from the Bangladesh border. They added that the dead leader may have been strangled, citing a post-mortem report.

Pannafled Bangladesh shortly after the collapse of the Hasina government. He was a former general secretary of the Bangladesh Chhatra League affiliated with the Awami League.

The body was discovered on August 26 in a semi-decomposed state inside a betel nut plantation in East Jaintia Hills' Dona Bhoi village. This area is just 1.5 kilometresaway from the India-Bangladesh border.

Police later confirmed he died because of strangulation. "The cause of the death is asphyxia caused by throttling," the police said, adding the body has been sent for forensic analysis.

There were multiple lacerations, abrasions and bruises on the body, "which could indicate a struggle by the victim," the police report said.

In another development, Bangladesh’s interim government said Thursday (Aug 29) that more than 1,000 people were killed in the violent protests during the previous regime.

Health Adviser Nurjahan Begum disclosed the new figure during a visit to the Central Police Hospital in Dhaka where she interacted with the police personnel injured in clashes.

“So far 1,000 people have been killed and more than 400 students and members of the general public have lost their sight. Many have been blind in one eye, while others are blind in both,” Nurjahan was quoted as saying by the bdnews24.com news portal.

(With inputs from agencies)