How and why a Bangladesh politician, Ishaque Ali Panna, came to have died on Meghalaya soil after reportedly fleeing his native land after the eruption of violence there continues to be a mystery.
It was reported yesterday that the post-mortem revealed signs of strangulation but the Meghalaya government is still holding off on having a high-level inquiry look into the case, preferring to entrust investigations to the Meghalaya police.
Panna, an ally of the deposed Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, had reportedly fled to Meghalaya to save his life after his home had been burnt down by a mob.
His death was reported in his native country variously as a heart attack or because of a fall as he tried to enter Meghalaya. However, the Border Security Force (BSF), tasked with securing the borders especially in light of the disturbed situation in Bangladesh, denied that he was even in the country. Later his partially decomposed body (identified through a recovered passport) was found on Meghalaya soil and the autopsy revealed signs that he had been throttled.
Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong, who is also responsible for the police as Home Minister, said that the body is in Khliehriat now and that the Bangladesh authorities have been informed. Panna’s family members are reportedly on their way to formally claim the body.
“Our responsibility is only to hand over the body to the family,” Tynsong said, adding that the state government is confused about the entire episode.
The BSF had assured the Meghalaya government that there was no question of Panna entering India whereas the interim authorities in Bangladesh were claiming that he was trying to escape to India.
“But two-three days later his body was found 1.2 or 1.3 kilometres inside Indian territory,” Tynsong said, adding that the police will continue their investigations.
Since the Hasina government fell there has been a night curfew in place in the border regions of Meghalaya and this continues, the Deputy CM informed. Another possibility as to Panna’s presence in India exists, he explained, namely that he was murdered in Bangladesh and his body brought over the border. However, this theory still involves one or more people illegally crossing the border with the added complication of moving a body in the process.
As to motive, being linked to Hasina would have made him unpopular in Bangladesh right now but greed could have been another factor. Panna’s family members have said that he was carrying around Rs 3 crore in US dollars but the BSF has told the state government that no money was found on the body.
