20 October, 2026- Faridpur, Bangladesh — The partially decomposed body of Kaushik Saha, also known as Jitu, a 23-year-old Hindu college student who went missing after going out to visit Durga Puja mandaps, was recovered from the Kumar River in Faridpur on Tuesday.
Police recovered the body at around 11:30 AM near the Madankhali sluice gate in the Bhatilakkhipur area of Faridpur Municipality. Initially, authorities were unable to identify the deceased. His identity was eventually confirmed after police used a bunch of keys found in the pocket of his trousers to check the locks at his family home.
Kaushik was the youngest of three siblings and the son of Kamalesh Kumar Saha, a resident of the Wireless Para area of Faridpur town. He was a second-year undergraduate student in the Department of Chemistry at Government Rajendra College in Faridpur.
Went Missing After Visiting Durga Puja Mandaps
According to family members, Kaushik spent the afternoon and evening of Maha Saptami visiting various Durga Puja mandaps with his mother. After returning home in the evening, he went out again to visit more Puja celebrations, taking the front gate key from his mother.
He subsequently went missing, and his family members searched several places but were unable to find him.
After failing to locate him, his father, Kamalesh Kumar Saha, filed a general diary (GD) at Faridpur Kotwali Police Station on Monday.
Body Discovered in the Kumar River
According to police and local sources, residents spotted a floating body in the Kumar River near the Madankhali sluice gate at around 7:00 AM on Tuesday. They contacted the national emergency service at 999 to report the discovery.
A team from the river police and Kotwali Police Station arrived and recovered the unidentified, partially decomposed body at around 11:30 AM.
Police found a bunch of keys in the pocket of the deceased’s trousers. Relatives later identified the body by the T-shirt and trousers he was wearing.
To verify the identification, police took the keys to Kaushik’s home and checked whether they fitted the household locks. This helped confirm that the body belonged to the missing college student.
Police Send Body for Autopsy
Sub-Inspector Masud Hossain of Kotwali Police Station told Prothom Alo that the body had swollen and decomposed, making immediate identification difficult.
Following confirmation of the identity, the body was sent to the morgue at Faridpur Medical College for an autopsy.
The circumstances surrounding Kaushik’s disappearance and death have not been established in the available report. Further investigation and autopsy findings are needed to determine the cause of death and whether any criminal activity was involved.
