Body of BNP leader recovered from Kaptai Lake

The body of a local BNP leader was recovered from Kaptai Lake in Rangamati yesterday, two days after he went missing while travelling by boat.

The body of Md Masud, 50, president of BNP’s ward 6 unit in Kaptai union, was found floating in the Garjontila area of the lake around 11:00am yesterday, the same location where he was believed to have drowned on Saturday, said Kaptai Police Station OC Sheikh Mahmudul Hasan Rubel.

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Police rushed to the scene after receiving the information and retrieved the body, the OC said, adding that legal proceedings were underway.

Masud, a seasonal fruit trader by profession, had left Kaptai for Bilaichhari on a boat on July 16, carrying fruits, according to police and locals.

He regularly made the trip from Kaptai ghat market every Thursday and usually returned home on Friday afternoon or Saturday morning.

When he failed to return by Saturday morning, his family began searching for him. Later that afternoon, locals found his boat, still loaded with goods, in the Garjontila area of Kaptai Lake.

Md Yusuf, president of Kaptai union BNP, said they informed the navy after learning of the incident.

A navy diving team launched a search operation in the lake on Saturday evening, but suspended it around 11:00pm after failing to locate him.

Fire service and navy diving teams resumed search efforts over the following two days.