The Awami League leader Ishaque Ali Khan Panna was ‘throttled to death’, as per the post-mortem report.
According to India-based news outlets, an Indian police source, quoting the post-mortem report, said that the cause of death is asphyxia caused by throttling and the forensic report will be able to give a better picture on the cause of Panna’s death.
Ishaque Ali Khan Panna, a former general secretary of Bangladesh Chhatra League and member of Pirojpur district unit of Awami League, reportedly fled Bangladesh after the ouster of his party-led government.
Indian police recovered the semi-decomposed body of Panna inside a betel nut plantation in East Jaintia Hills' Dona Bhoi village, 1.5 km away from the India-Bangladesh border, on August 26.
“The body was identified by the passport he was carrying,” NDTV said citing sources.
There were also multiple lacerations on the body. There were abrasions and bruises on the forehead, "which could indicate a struggle by the victim," the report added, said police sources.
United News of India, another media outlet, wrote that Panna’s family claimed he had nearly $20 million on him. However, Giri Prasad, chief of East Jaintia Hills District Police, categorically denied finding any money along with the body.
On August 24 morning, Panna and a few others crossed into Meghalaya through the Tamabil border of Sylhet.