Body of missing journalist Bibhuranjan found in Meghna River

He has been missing since Thursday morning, family confirms

Police have recovered the body of senior journalist-columnist Bibhuranjan Sarkar from the Meghna River in Munshiganj.

He had been reported missing since Thursday morning.

Saleh Ahmed Pathan, chief of the Kalagachhia River Police outpost, said the remains of the 71-year-old were found floating in the river near Kalagachhia.

Police matched it with the photograph of the missing journalist submitted by Ramna police and informed the station after confirming the identity.

Masud Alam, deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Ramna Division, said: “A body has been found in the Meghna River. We have largely confirmed the identity. The family has verified it and formalities have been completed.”

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, his younger brother Chiraranjan Sarkar said Bibhuranjan 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 "failing" a higher-level exam as a government officer despite medical leave, his son’s "difficulty" finding a job after graduating from BUET, and his own financial struggles.

The family said he left home on Thursday morning and had left his mobile phone at home.

When he did not return and no one had information about his whereabouts, his son Rit Sarkar filed a general diary (GD) with Ramna police late on Thursday night.

Rit told police that his father left his Siddheshwari residence at 10am for the office but did not return.

“We inquired at his office [in Banasree] and learned that he had not gone there. We searched thoroughly in all possible places but could not find him anywhere, so we came to the police station to file the GD,” he said.

OC Golam Faruk of Ramna Police told bdnews24.com on Friday morning, “We are investigating. He left his phone at home. If he had taken it, it might have been easier to trace him.”

Chiraranjan wrote on Facebook late Thursday, “My uncle, journalist Bibhuranjan Sarkar, left home at 10am to go to the office at Ajker Patrika as usual. Later we found he did not reach the office or visit any familiar places. No one saw him. By 1am he had not returned. He had left his mobile at home.

“We filed a GD with Ramna Police. The whole family is extremely worried.”

On Friday afternoon, police in Munshiganj confirmed that Bibhuranjan’s body had been recovered from the Meghna River.

Bibhuranjan, born in 1954, began his career as a journalist in the late 1960s while still in school, working as a correspondent for Dainik Azad.

He later studied in the Department of Bangla at Dhaka University.

Over his long career, he worked with several national dailies and weeklies, serving as editor of daily Matribhumi and weekly Chaltipatra, as well as executive editor of weekly Mridubhashon.

During the anti-Ershad movement of the 1980s, his political columns written under the pseudonym "Tarik Ibrahim" in the weekly Jai Jai Din gained popularity.

As a student, Bibhuranjan was an active member of the Bangladesh Students’ Union, later serving as assistant general secretary of its central committee.

He was also a member of the Communist Party of Bangladesh.

Among his published books are Brittabandi Rajniti, Dosharoper Rajniti, Awami League Niye Asha O Ashanka, Nana Chinta Nana Mot, and Kar Cheye Ke Bhalo.

He also edited literary works including Kibria Smarakgrantha Baktrita, Krishak Neta Hatem Ali Khan, and Monaem Sarker Jokhon Nirbasone.