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Published : 24 Aug 2025, 01:15 AM
At the Boro Deshwari Kali Temple and crematorium in Dhaka's Sabujbagh, as family and friends gathered for a final glimpse of veteran journalist and columnist Bibhuranjan Sarkar, his wife Shefali and other relatives wept inconsolably.
His cremation rituals began around 6:15pm on Saturday and ran until 8:30pm.
A large number of people gathered at the crematorium on Saturday evening to bid a final farewell to Bibhuranjan, who had left home for his office only to return as a corpse.
Kazi Sajjad Zahir Chandan, a presidium member of the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), Khan Asaduzzaman Masum, president of the Jubo Union, Bahauddin Shuvo, general secretary of the Student Union, and many others paid their respects with wreaths.
His last workplace, Ajker Patrika, also paid tribute with flowers.
Earlier, his body was brought to his rented apartment named “Apsara” in Siddheshwarii around 5:15pm. Relatives who had come from Bibhuranjan's village home paid their last respects there.
The body was then taken to the Boro Deshwari Kali Temple around 6pm.
Bibhuranjan, 71, had been missing since Thursday morning when he left home for his office. The next afternoon, police recovered his body from the Meghna River in Munshiganj.
A postmortem examination was conducted at the Munshiganj General Hospital on Saturday afternoon.
Bibhuranjan worked for Ajker Patrika and contributed regular columns to several media outlets, including the opinion section of bdnews24.com.
He sent his last article to bdnews24.com at 9:15am on Thursday, noting in a footnote: “This may be published as my final piece”.
Contacted on Thursday, Chiraranjan said his elder brother had been struggling with depression for various reasons. Later that night, the family received news of his disappearance.
Bibhuranjan’s final article, titled “Khola Chithi”, or Open Letter, was published in the opinion section of bdnews24.com on Friday.
In it, he wrote about his own and his son’s illnesses, his daughter’s academic struggles, his son’s "difficulty" finding a job after graduating from BUET, and his own financial struggles.
Family members said he left his mobile phone at home before disappearing. His son Ritu Sarkar filed a missing person report with Ramna police that night after his father failed to return.
‘WE WANT TO LIVE WITH DIGNITY’: CHIRARANJAN
At the Boro Deshwari Kali Temple, Chiraranjan told journalists: "My brother has left this world. This has not harmed anyone else.
“But the harm that has befallen us, our family members, can never be compensated. We truly do not know how we will overcome this grief.”
He requested that no one create a political narrative about Bibhuranjan's death, saying: "Since my brother went missing, our main concern was how to find him. We don't blame anyone.
"Please do not manipulate my brother's story. As human beings, we just want to live in this country with dignity, using our own abilities.”
He continued, "My brother was a journalist, a creative and intellectual person. We didn't realise his frustrations in life. He expressed some of that in the open letter. I request everyone not to distort our words or add any political colour to them.
"I believe everyone should reflect on the picture of our journalistic life that emerged in that open letter. I myself was once involved in the journalism profession. I have seen many things from the inside. I think we need to figure out how we can bring about a change so that such a plight never befalls another journalist. This is our family's only request."
When a journalist asked if a case would be filed regarding Bibhuranjan's death, Chiraranjan said: "We have not yet decided whether we will initiate a case. The one who has left can't be brought back for anything.
“The family, the institution, society, and the state system are responsible for the wound with which Bibhuranjan left. I don't think this system we are in can be fixed with a single lawsuit. A major change is needed for this system to be altered, and everyone should think about that."
