Missing customs official's body found in Kotbari

The body of 35-year-old customs officer Bulet Bairagi was found on a footpath in the Kotbari area of the Dhaka-Chittagong highway. 

Mainamati Highway Police recovered the body from the sidewalk adjacent to the Irish Hotel around 8:00 am on Saturday, approximately 12 hours after he was last reported to be travelling. 

Later in the afternoon, at roughly 1:00 pm, grieving family members arrived at the police station to formally identify the body they had been searching for all night.

Bulet Bairagi was serving as an assistant customs officer in a non-cadre post under the 41st BCS batch at the Bibir Bazar land port of Cumilla Customs. 

Originally hailing from Tungipara in Gopalganj, he resided with his family in a rented residence named Bhuiyan Heritage, located in the Rajaganj Panpatti area of Cumilla city. 

He is survived by his wife and a nine-month-old daughter, leaving behind a young family in profound shock.

His final journey began on April 11 when he travelled to Chittagong to attend departmental government training. 

After concluding his training around 11:00 pm on Friday night, he boarded a bus from Alankar More in Chittagong, intending to return to his home in Cumilla. During the journey, he maintained regular contact with his family via his mobile phone. His mother, Neelima Bairagi, said that her only son made a final call to her at approximately 2:25 am, informing her that he had reached the Tomshambridge intersection within Cumilla city. 

However, the situation took another turn shortly after 2:30 am, when unknown individuals were heard speaking on his mobile device. 

The phone was subsequently found switched off, prompting an agonizing night of searching by his family members.

Unable to locate him in any of the possible places they checked, Bulet's father, Sushil Bairagi, took the step of filing a General Diary (GD) with the Cumilla Kotwali Model Police Station on Saturday morning to officially report his son's disappearance.

Md. Abdul Momin, the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of the Mainamati Highway Police Station, detailed the circumstances of the recovery. He stated that the police initially responded to a call placed to the national emergency service 999 regarding an unidentified body on the highway. 

Upon identification and examination, it was evident that Bairagi had been brutally attacked by miscreants. His body bore visible injury marks on the back of the head, and there was blood on his face, confirming that he was murdered before being dumped on the sidewalk next to the Irish Hotel and Restaurant.

The investigation has since been taken up by the Sadar Dakshin Model Police Station, with OC Md. Sirajul Mostafa explaining that authorities are actively trying to determine how Bairagi was transported from the Tomshambridge intersection in the city out to the highway in the dead of night. 

As part of the ongoing investigation, police are in the process of collecting CCTV footage from the surrounding areas and are utilizing information provided by local sources. 

The prevailing belief among law enforcement is that the miscreants murdered the customs officer late at night and abandoned his body on the footpath to obscure their crimes.

Following the identification, the Sadar Dakshin Model Police Station took custody of the body from the Highway Police after noon on Saturday. 

However, due to procedural delays, the autopsy could not be performed on Saturday and has been rescheduled for Sunday morning.

In the meantime, the atmosphere at the Bairagi residence has been enveloped in profound grief as the family mourns the loss of their only child. 

Throughout the afternoon, relatives were seen crying heartily, while neighbours and well-wishers gathered to offer their condolences and support. 

Upon hearing the devastating news, officials and colleagues from his workplace also visited the home to pay their respects to the fellowman.

The immense sorrow of the family was articulated by Sushil Bairagi, who lamented the senseless loss of his son. 

In a heart-wrenching statement, he asked why the killers had to take away his most precious wealth, stating that if they had simply demanded money, he would have willingly provided it.

The bereaved family has made arrangements to transport Bullet Bairagi’s body to his ancestral village home in Gopalganj once the autopsy is complete.