Police recovered the body of a man from a pond bank in Gayeshpur, Pabna Sadar Upazila, on Sunday morning. The deceased has been identified as Quddus Ali Sheikh, 55, son of the late Surat Ali Sheikh, from Masimpur Uttar Para.
Locals spotted the body near a pond in Masimpur village and alerted the authorities. Quddus had been missing since Saturday night. His relatives arrived at the scene and confirmed his identity.
According to local sources, Quddus, a cattle trader, was playing cards with friends in a nearby cornfield on Saturday afternoon. A witness stated that the group scattered in panic after receiving a phone call warning them of an approaching police raid. In the ensuing rush, no one noticed where Quddus had gone.
When he failed to return home, his family conducted a night-long search but found no trace of him. On Sunday morning, his body was discovered near the cornfield where he was last seen. His wife, Mahmuda Akter, noted that the body bore several burn marks.
SI Fahad Hasan of Pabna Sadar Police Station stated that preliminary evidence suggests the death may have been caused by a lightning strike. However, the body has been sent for an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.
