The decomposed body of Awami League leader Ishaque Ali Khan Panna was recovered from a betelnut plantation in the Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya, near the India-Bangladesh border, police officials said.
The body, found on August 26, was located about 1.5 km from the border, and identified through Panna’s passport, said Superintendent of Police Giri Prasad.
Panna was a former general secretary of the Bangladesh Chhatra League and a prominent Awami League member from Pirojpur district.
Sources stated that Panna had been on the run since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5.
A close associate of Ishaque Ali Khan Panna, currently based in Kolkata, confirmed his death to Bangladeshi media on condition of anonymity.
The source revealed that following the fall of the Awami League government, Panna sought refuge in India after hiding for a few days.
He crossed the border into India and began ascending a hill in Shillong on Friday night, but tragically suffered a heart attack during the climb and passed away.
Panna had served as the General Secretary of the Bangladesh Chhatra League in 1994. Professionally, he was the Chairman of Diamond Life Insurance Company Limited.
Following the Awami League council in 2012, he was appointed Assistant Secretary of the party’s central sub-committee and later held positions on various other sub-committees. Until his death, he was a member of the Pirojpur district Awami League.
His body has been sent to Khliehriat Civil Hospital in Meghalaya for further identification, Prasad said on Wednesday.
Initial reports suggest Panna may have suffered a cardiac arrest while trying to cross the border.
However, conflicting accounts indicate that he could have been involved in a shooting incident with the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), according to police.
Investigations are underway to determine the exact circumstances of his death.
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