Ex-BAF officer Tahsif Sauri buried; family suspects murder

Former Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) Flight Lieutenant KM Tahsif Sauri, 28, was buried in Uttara on Thursday, a day after his body was recovered from the River Turag, with his family suspecting he was murdered and police yet to establish the cause of death.
Tahsif went missing on Tuesday evening after leaving his Uttara home with a friend. 
His body was recovered on Wednesday near Rajabari Ghat at about 4:30pm after a call to the national emergency hotline 999, said Firoz Uddin, inspector of the Tongi River Police Outpost, who confirmed the death on Thursday. 
It was sent to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital for an autopsy.
An unnamed boatman at the ghat said two boys had told them a body was floating in the river. “Around 3pm, we saw a man in a black shirt whose body got caught against a speedboat,” he said.
“The boat owner called the police, but they took no action. Our employer then called the river police. A river police officer and I pulled the body out. A mobile phone, a cigarette packet and some money were found in his pocket.”
Dhaka District River Police Superintendent Abdullah Al Mamun said investigators initially suspect drowning, as no visible external injuries were found. 
“The actual cause of death will be known after the post-mortem report is received. Further legal action will be taken based on complaints from the family,” he said.

Inquest findings
Sub-Inspector Mustafizur Rahman of the Tongi River Police outpost prepared the inquest report on Thursday morning. Tahsif’s cousin, Zahir Hasan, identified the body.
The report states that Tahsif was wearing a white pajama and a black shirt, with a wristwatch on his wrist and an iPhone in his pocket. His identity was established through the phone. Blood was coming from his nose and his abdomen was swollen. His mouth and eyes were closed, both arms were bent towards the front of his head and his hands were open. His chest, back and both legs showed no visible injury marks.
Father rules out suicide
Tahsif lived with his family in a flat at Korobi Bhaban in Sector 18, Uttara. His ancestral home is in Sonadanga, Khulna. His father, KM Enayetul Karim Helal, ruled out suicide and said he suspected his son had been killed and dumped in the river. He could not name anyone who might have been involved or suggest a motive.
“Sometimes Tahsif told me that he was worried about something, but he never explained why. He never told us about receiving any threats,” he said. Asked about filing a case, he said the family would decide after the funeral and burial.

Last movements
According to his father, Tahsif spent Tuesday with his mother, went shopping and bought gifts for his father. Before evening, his friend Dwip came to call him. Tahsif told his mother he was going downstairs to meet Dwip but did not return.
CCTV footage showed Dip arriving at the building on a motorcycle at 6:24pm. After exchanging greetings, the two left on separate motorcycles at 6:31pm. His mother called him repeatedly.
 At 1:35am on Wednesday, he messaged her: “Mummy, I am coming.” The family could not reach him afterwards.
Enayetul Karim said he went to Turag Police Station on Wednesday afternoon, where police said they had no information about Tahsif. 
At about 5:15pm, the officer-in-charge of Uttarkhan police station told him his son’s body had been recovered and identified. He said Tahsif had never visited the area where the body was found. 
“We do not know who killed Tahsif or who was behind this incident,” he said.
He added that Tahsif had been dismissed from the Air Force on disciplinary grounds and later worked at the Bangladesh Cricket Board, Netra News and Vargo Tobacco. 
He had been resting for several days after a motorcycle accident.

Friend’s account
Dip told reporters on Thursday that he spent nearly six hours with Tahsif before he went missing. He said he went to Tahsif’s home around 6:30pm on Tuesday, and they repaired their motorcycles at a workshop, had dinner and returned to Tahsif’s home around midnight. Dip then left for his home in Mohammadpur.
“We have been close friends for a long time, although Tahsif bhai is two or three years older than me. We have the same motorcycle model, and he called me for advice about a problem with his bike,” he said. 
He said their families often visited each other. He claimed he had no specific information about the death and said he was present at the hospital during the post-mortem.

Funeral and reactions
Funeral prayers were held at 4:30pm on Thursday at the Central Jame Mosque of the RAJUK Uttara Apartment Project in Sector 18. He was buried at a graveyard in Sector 12.
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said he did not want to comment until an initial investigation was complete. “The post-mortem examination is underway. We will speak after learning all the details,” he said after a passing-out parade at Rajshahi Police Academy for the 27th trainee sergeants and the 43rd batch of cadet sub-inspectors (2006 batch).
Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar expressed concern and anger in a statement, offered condolences to the family and prayed for Tahsif’s soul. 
He questioned the roles of law enforcement and intelligence agencies, alleging serious negligence and demanding accountability.
Tahsif was reportedly the first to post on social media a video of then prime minister Sheikh Hasina leaving Bangladesh by aircraft on 5 August 2024 in the face of an uprising. 
The claim has not been officially confirmed. He and four other officers were dismissed around 28 August 2024 and were reportedly under intelligence surveillance.
In a statement on 4 August 2025, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said Tahsif and Flight Lieutenant Rifat Ashrafi had been retired under existing Air Force laws and rules. 
It said their retirement was not linked to alleged ties with foreign intelligence agencies, and called a media report claiming otherwise misleading.