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The body of Sohel Rana, a 45-year-old Bangladeshi national who died in Latvia after allegedly being tortured by human traffickers, returned to his village home in Jhenaidah on Sunday.
His remains reached Ramchandrapur village in Jhenaidah Sadar upazila around 3:00pm, bringing profound grief to his family and relatives. Hundreds of villagers gathered at the house to pay their last respects.
According to his father-in-law, Alfaz Uddin, Sohel, son of Abul Hashem, was rescued by Latvian police from a forest near the Latvia-Belarus border on October 7 after allegedly being subjected to inhuman torture by a human trafficking gang. The gang had reportedly promised to send him to Italy.
Sohel died the following day while receiving treatment at a hospital in Latvia’s Latgale region, Alfaz said.
The family learned of his death through a text message from Polish police on October 12, he added.
On October 17, Sohel’s wife, Jasmin Sultana, filed a case with a court accusing nine people in connection with the incident. The court subsequently directed the officer-in-charge of Jhenaidah Sadar Police Station to register the complaint as a first information report (FIR).
Sohel’s father, Abul Hashem, said the body was brought from Dhaka to their village home after the necessary legal procedures and administrative formalities had been completed.
Local Union Parishad Chairman Enamul Haque Nilu said Sohel’s namaz-e-janaza was held at the Ramchandrapur School ground in the afternoon. He was later buried at the family graveyard.
Villagers demanded exemplary punishment for those allegedly involved in the human trafficking network linked to Sohel’s death.