The night ended in tragedy for the family of Mohammad Isfatul Islam Jisan, a 27-year-old student leader whose body was recovered just four hours after he was allegedly abducted in Chakaria, Cox’s Bazar.

Police recovered Jisan’s body from the Kachhapia Dhala area of the Chattogram-Cox’s Bazar highway in Khutakhali in the early hours of Monday.

Jisan, a resident of Lotoni in Ward 3 of Kakara union in Chakaria upazila, was the senior joint convener of the Kakara union unit of the Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal.

According to local and family sources, several people allegedly picked Jisan up in a white microbus from in front of Saber Sawdagar’s shop in Lotoni late at night. About four hours later, his body was found lying beside the highway.

His family has alleged that Jisan was taken to Kabir Tower in the Sabujbagh residential area of Chakaria municipality after being abducted, where he was killed. They further alleged that his body was later dumped beside the highway.

An audio recording of a conversation between Jisan’s elder brother, Kaiser, and Mizan, the younger brother of Kabir Tower owner Zakaria, has meanwhile circulated on social media.

Kaiser said the conversation took place about two hours before Jisan was abducted.

In the recording, Mizan can allegedly be heard saying that they had reached a decision after being left with no alternative and had prepared a written complaint. 

He reportedly warned that if the family did not sit down to resolve the matter concerning Jisan by the following day, he would seek his own way of resolving it. He also referred to having 50 people ready to search for Jisan.

The recording contains further remarks concerning Jisan.

Police said local residents identified a white X-Noah vehicle in the parking area of Kabir Tower in the Sabujbagh residential area. 

Acting on the information, police went to the building and sought access to its CCTV footage.

According to police, however, Jisan’s family members were unable to provide the footage.

Chakaria police station officer-in-charge Arifur Rahman said investigators were trying to establish why Jisan had been abducted and what had led to his death.

“The reason for Jisan’s abduction and the actual cause of his death are being investigated. Efforts are under way to identify and arrest those involved,” he said.

Police sent Jisan’s body to the morgue of Cox’s Bazar District Sadar Hospital for post-mortem examination.

As the investigation continues, the circumstances surrounding the young student leader’s abduction and death remain under scrutiny, with his family seeking answers about what happened to him during the four hours between his disappearance and the recovery of his body.