AL Leader Panna’s Body Found In Meghalaya: Indian Police

The Indian police in the northeastern state of Meghalaya have recovered the semi-decomposed body of Awami League leader Ishaque Ali Khan Panna from a plantation in East Jaintia Hills district bordering Bangladesh, PTI reported quoting a police official.

The body was located on the evening of 26 August around 1.5km from the border, district SP Giri Prasad said, adding  Panna was identified through his passport.

The body has been kept in Khliehriat Civil Hospital for further identification and processing, PTI quoted the SP as saying.

Panna, a former general secretary of Bangladesh Chhatra League and a prominent member of Awami League from Pirojpur district, had been on the run following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on 5 August.

Initial reports had suggested that Panna might have suffered a cardiac arrest while trying to cross the border. However, there are conflicting accounts that say he might have been involved in a shooting incident with the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), police said.

Trideep Sangma, the second-in-command at the BSF Frontier Headquarters, Meghalaya, said they have got in touch with the Assistant High Commission in Guwahati regarding the body of Panna.

“The Assistant High Commission has said they have not received any official information about Panna’s death near the border as of now,” Sangma said.