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Published : 17 Jul 2026, 01:19 PM
An unidentified, partially decomposed body that washed ashore on Nijhum Dwip in Noakhali's Hatia Upazila has remained unrecovered more than a day after it was first spotted.
Local residents on Friday cited a “lack of coordination” between police and River Police for delaying the recovery.
They said the body was found around 11am on Thursday in a Keora grove near Hashi Market in Ward No. 9 of Nijhum Dwip Union.
They believe it drifted in with the tide before becoming lodged inside the coastal forest.
Nijhum Dwip River Police Outpost Inspector Ashikur Rahman said his team went to the site on Thursday night after getting the tip-off but found nothing at the time.
The search resumed from 6am on Friday, when the body was located.
He said the fingernails and toenails had come off and the face was almost unrecognisable. The body could not yet be recovered because of the high tide.
As decomposition advanced, a foul smell spread through the area, prompting locals to demand that the body be recovered quickly, identified and handed over to relatives.
Around noon, Ashikur said police had assured his team the body would be retrieved by Friday morning, adding it should have already been recovered by then.
Sub-Inspector Md Suman of Nijhum Dwip Police Investigation Centre said his team would head to the site and begin the recovery once conditions allowed.
Laboni Begum, acting chairman of Nijhum Dwip Union council, said the remote forest location and tidal water were both slowing the recovery.
Hatia Police Station chief Md Kabir Hossain said the site falls primarily under the jurisdiction of the River Police because it is close to the river.
He said both the police station and the River Police had visited the scene after receiving the report.
The keora grove is about 1km from the main road, he added, and tidal water has prevented an immediate recovery. The body will be retrieved as soon as the water recedes and conditions become safe.
