Shillong, Aug 30: All formalities have been completed to hand over the body of Bangladesh’s Awami League functionary, Ishaque Ali Khan Panna, with the coordination between the Ministry of External Affairs, India and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh.

All paper works were completed at the office of the East Jaintia Hills police headquarters and at the Deputy Commissioner’s office on Friday. However, since it was late in the evening, the body would be taken to Bangladesh on Saturday morning.

The state government is actively coordinating with the Bangladesh High Commission as per the instructions of the Ministry of External Affairs and Home Affairs.

A person close to the family of Panna is in Meghalaya to take over the body to his home at Pirojpur district in Bangladesh. The person has been authorised by the Bangladesh High Commission to identify the body and complete the necessary paper works.

The body has been identified by the person as that of Panna at the Khliehriat Civil hospital morgue, officials informed.

Officials said the body would be taken by road through the Dawki land port and therefore the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) are coordinating, so that there are no issues during the crossover.

Sources informed that his body would be handed over at 5 AM from Khliehriat Civil Hospital.

Panna was murdered
Panna was killed by throttling, a fact established by the post mortem reports of Khliehriat Civil hospital report. Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister in-charge Home, Prestone Tynsong, too said the post-mortem reports indicates the victim was killed adding further investigation of the Forensic Science Laboratory is on.

“There are possibilities of the Bangladeshi leader’s body being dumped into Indian Territory,” Tynsong said. He also added that the incident happened despite imposition of night curfew along the India-Bangladesh border in view of the current turmoil in Bangladesh and to prevent infiltration.

He also said the Ministry of External Affairs and Home Affairs are “taking care of everything” and the state government’s responsibility is only to handover the body.

Bangladesh leader’s body found inside Meghalaya near international border (sub head)
Panna’s body was found in a betel nut plantation in the village called Dona Bhoi in East Jaintia Hills on August 26, near the international border with Bangladesh. The discovery of the body was kept secret by authorities owing to the sensitivity of the case.

According to sources, several security agencies are investigating the circumstances that led to Panna’s death and the “dumping of the body” inside India.