The body of BGB sepoy Md. Billal Hasan, who went missing in a boat capsize carrying Rohingya refugees, has been recovered from the Bay of Bengal. Billal, a soldier stationed at the Shah Porir Dwip Border Outpost, hailed from Kajirtala village in Muradnagar upazila.
His lifeless body was found around 12:30 PM on Sunday (March 23) near the Golar Char area of Teknaf’s Shah Porir Dwip, authorities confirmed.
The tragic incident occurred late Friday night when a boat carrying Rohingya refugees capsized in the Bay of Bengal near Teknaf while attempting to enter Bangladesh from Myanmar illegally. Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) rescued 25 people, including women and children, but several others, including the BGB soldier, went missing. On Saturday, four bodies—including that of a child—were recovered, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths to five.
Lt. Col. Md. Ashiqur Rahman, commander of the Teknaf-2 BGB Battalion, stated, “After two days of search operations, the missing BGB soldier’s body has been recovered from the sea. On the night of the incident, our personnel, alongside local fishermen, launched a rescue operation when they spotted a boat carrying Rohingya refugees near the western coast of Shah Porir Dwip. While attempting to stop the vessel, it capsized in the rough waters, leading to the soldier’s disappearance.”
He added, “We managed to rescue 25 people that night, and our search operations are ongoing.”
Billal’s brother, Abu Bakar, expressed his grief, saying, “I had set out for Teknaf to search for my brother, but before I could reach, I received the heartbreaking news that his body had been found in a sandbar.”
Confirming the development, Teknaf Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Sheikh Ehsan Uddin said, “Previously, the bodies of four Rohingya, including a child, were recovered. Several others remain missing, and law enforcement agencies are actively searching for them.”
According to local sources, on the night of March 22, a boat carrying Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar was spotted floating near the western coast of Shah Porir Dwip. Acting on intelligence, BGB personnel, along with local fishermen led by boat owner Mohammad Amin and skipper Shaker Majhi, attempted to intercept the vessel. A BGB team boarded the boat, but powerful waves caused it to capsize. Amid the chaos, 25 refugees were rescued, but many remained unaccounted for. Survivors claimed that the boat was carrying over 50 people at the time of the accident.
Authorities suspect that the incident was orchestrated by a human trafficking ring, reportedly led by local traffickers Iman Hossain and Abul Monsur, who are believed to have been smuggling Rohingya refugees from Myanmar into Bangladesh.
By Abdur Rashid Manik
File Photo
