Temple caretaker, missing for three days, found dead in Cox's Bazar hill

Police are waiting for the postmortem report to confirm whether it was a murder or suicide

Police have recovered the hanging body of a temple caretaker with a scarf wrapped around his neck in Cox's Bazar Sadar Upazila three days after he went missing.

Cox's Bazar Sadar Model Police chief Mohammad Samiuddin said the body was found hanging from a tree in a remote hilly area of Khurushkhul Union on Wednesday afternoon.

The caretaker, Nayan Das, was employed at the Pulishshora Ghona Naag Panchami Temple in the Union.

Citing the family, Jony Dhar, general secretary of the Cox's Bazar Puja Udjapan Parishad, said Nayan left home around 9pm on Apr 19 after being called by some unidentified people and never returned.

The family filed a complaint with the Cox's Bazar Sadar Model Police Station on the night of Apr 20.

Locals and Nayan’s colleagues started searching for him in the surrounding area the following day.

On Wednesday afternoon, a group of 30-35 people first spotted the body in the hilly area east of the temple. They immediately reported the matter to police.

The body was sent for a postmortem which will clarify whether it was a murder or suicide, said the police officer.

Locals demanded a proper investigation into the death.