In the quiet waterfront of Tongi, where the Dhaka outskirts meet the slow currents of the river, a young man who once wore the uniform of Bangladesh's Air Force was found dead, and his passing carries the weight of a political era still unsettled. Twenty-eight years old, KM Tahsif Souri had reportedly been present for one of the most consequential departures in his country's recent history, the flight of a long-ruling leader on a August day in 2024. Whether his death is bound to that moment or merely shadowed by it remains unknown, and the honest answer for now rests in a postmortem that has y
Former Air Force officer linked to Hasina exit video found dead in Dhaka river; cause unconfirmed
A 28-year-old former Air Force officer, KM Tahsif Souri, died in a river in Dhaka; his death is under investigation and the cause is not yet established.
He went downstairs but never returned home.
Mark
Why is this death getting attention beyond a river recovery in Dhaka?
Mimi
Because of the video. Reports say Souri recorded footage of Sheikh Hasina leaving Bangladesh on August 5, 2024, the day her government collapsed.
Luke
Careful, though. That role is reported, attributed to the Daily Star. The article doesn't say it has been independently confirmed.
Mark
And police haven't tied the death to the video?
Mimi
Correct. They've established no link at all.
Luke
So the connection is one of timing and context, not evidence. Even the cause of death is unknown. Drowning is only suspected.
Mark
What does the family say?
Mimi
His father says Tahsif sometimes felt apprehensive, but never said why. He also described a friend, called Dip, coming to the building that evening, after which Tahsif went down and never returned.
Luke
That's the father's account, relayed through Jago News. Nothing here says police have spoken to the friend or confirmed that meeting. And the unspecified fear could mean many things.
Mark
What are we waiting on?
Mimi
The postmortem report, and whatever the police inquiry finds about how he ended up at Tongi Bandar Ghat.
Le Pouls
- A former Air Force officer went missing for a day before his body surfaced in a river at Tongi Bandar Ghat.
- His reported link to a video of Sheikh Hasina's 2024 departure has put a sharp political shadow over an otherwise ordinary death.
- Police identified him only through his phone and wristwatch, and no cause of death has been confirmed.
- Drowning is suspected, but investigators are waiting on the postmortem to establish what happened and who he met that evening.
In the quiet waterfront of Tongi, where the Dhaka outskirts meet the slow currents of the river, a young man who once wore the uniform of Bangladesh's Air Force was found dead, and his passing carries the weight of a political era still unsettled. Twenty-eight years old, KM Tahsif Souri had reportedly been present for one of the most consequential departures in his country's recent history, the flight of a long-ruling leader on a August day in 2024. Whether his death is bound to that moment or merely shadowed by it remains unknown, and the honest answer for now rests in a postmortem that has yet to speak.
On a Thursday, river police in Dhaka pulled a body from the water at Tongi Bandar Ghat. It belonged to KM Tahsif Souri, a 28-year-old former Bangladesh Air Force officer who had been missing for a day. A call to the national emergency helpline had alerted authorities, and his phone and watch allowed police to identify him.
Souri's death has drawn attention because of a reported connection to a video he recorded of Sheikh Hasina leaving Bangladesh on August 5, 2024, the day mass protests ended her government. Police have not tied his death to that footage, and the cause remains unestablished. Drowning is suspected, but the postmortem will decide.
His father, KM Enayetul Karim Helal, said he did not know who was responsible. Souri had sometimes spoken of feeling apprehensive, though never said what he feared. On the evening he vanished, a junior friend called for him from downstairs, and Souri went down to talk and did not come back. The answers now depend on the autopsy and on the inquiry into who he met that night.
On Thursday, river police in Dhaka recovered the body of a 28-year-old man from the water at Tongi Bandar Ghat. He was KM Tahsif Souri, a former Bangladesh Air Force officer, and he had been missing for a day. Police were alerted by a call to 999, the national emergency helpline.
The body was taken to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital for an autopsy. Police were able to identify Souri because his mobile phone and wristwatch were found with him. According to Prothom Alo, he lived with his family in Sector 18 of Uttara, in northern Dhaka.
Police have said the cause of death is not yet known. Drowning is suspected, but officials said the postmortem report would be needed to establish what happened.
The death has drawn attention because of what Souri was reportedly part of. The Daily Star reported that he had recorded a video showing Sheikh Hasina leaving Bangladesh on August 5, 2024. That was the day mass protests brought down her government. She is reported to have left by military helicopter and then boarded a Bangladesh Air Force C-130J Hercules transport, which flew to the Hindon airbase in Ghaziabad, India. Hasina has stayed in exile in India and has vowed to return to Bangladesh.
Police have not established any connection between Souri's death and the video he reportedly recorded. That distinction matters, because the only link on the record at this point is his reported role in the footage.
His father, KM Enayetul Karim Helal, told Jago News that he did not know who was responsible for his son's death. He said Souri sometimes spoke of feeling unsafe. "Tahsif would sometimes tell me that he was feeling a little apprehensive. But he never told me what he was worried about," Helal said.
According to the father, Souri had been dismissed from the Air Force on disciplinary grounds. He later worked at the Bangladesh Cricket Board, then at Netra News, and most recently at Virgo Tobacco.
Helal described the evening his son disappeared. Before dark, one of Souri's junior friends came to the building and called for him from downstairs. Souri told his mother that "Dip" was there and that he would go down to talk to him. He went downstairs and never came back home.
What comes next rests largely with the postmortem. Its findings should show whether the death was a drowning, and the police inquiry will have to address how Souri came to be at the river, and who he went to meet that evening.
Citations marquantes
Tahsif would sometimes tell me that he was feeling a little apprehensive. But he never told me what he was worried about.— KM Enayetul Karim Helal, Souri's father, to Jago News
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Politics & Governance