While the Dinajpur police superintendent claimed Bhabesh Chandra Roy died of natural causes, family members of the 58-year-old from Narabari in Biral upazila today alleged foul play.

Speaking to The Daily Star today, SP Marufat Husain said, "We have investigated the matter through an additional SP. We have visited the places Bhabesh had been to, but we did not find anything to substantiate the family's claim of unnatural death. It was a natural death."

Bhabesh died on Friday night hours after he was taken by four youths on motorbikes to Phulbari Haat and then to Narabari Bazar.

His wife Shantana Roy and their only son Swapan Chandra Roy said they and their neighbours had seen injury marks around Bhabesh's neck when his body was brought home.

Shantana told this newspaper, "They took my husband, who was physically sound, from home, and he came back as a corpse. I want justice of his murder."

Swapan alleged that his father had been tortured mentally and physically after he was taken from home by the "perpetrators".

"We want justice through a fair investigation because they took my father from home in good health, but he was dead hours later," he said.

"We hope to file a case tomorrow [Monday]," said Swapan, who recently completed his post-graduation and is currently living in a mess in Kalitala area of Dinajpur town.

The family members were holding the post-funeral rituals attended by their relatives and villagers at home today.

POLICE STATEMENT

Bangladesh Police in a statement uploaded in its official Facebook page yesterday said police are thoroughly investigating the death.

The statement said Bhabesh, known in the locality as a social person, had his homestead left as the only asset although he owned 9–10 bighas of land previously.

Quoting his wife, the statement said Bhabesh's four neighbours -- Md Ratan 30, Akhtarul Islam alias Atik 42, Md Rubel Islam 25, and Munna Islam 27 came by two motorbikes, and they went to the local Narabari market.

Although Ratan, Rubel and Atik were 15 to 18 years younger than Bhabesh, they used to visit the latter's home regularly, chitchat with him and hang out at the local market.

The statement said they had tea at one Ohidul's tea stall in Dudhati area of Narabari Bazar around 7:00pm. They all appeared to be in normal condition at that time, the notification reads.

After having tea, Bhabesh chewed betel leaf and smoked a cigarette at a nearby shop. Shortly afterward, he leaned against a pillar of a shop and began sweating profusely.

Quoting locals, the betel leaf shop owner, Motibur Rahman, 52, said Bhabesh had purchased the betel leaf from him.

Locals quickly took Bhabesh to a nearby village doctor Liton, who found his blood pressure to be nearly zero, reads the statement.

He was taken to another village doctor, Abdur Rahman, at the end of Narabari Bazar by a rickshaw-van where he advised that Bhabesh be taken to Dinajpur Medical College Hospital immediately as he did not find any reading in the blood pressure machine.

In the meantime, Ratan informed Swapan over the phone about his father's condition. Swapan then asked Ratan to take Bhabesh home. But the four took Bhabesh to another village doctor, Krishna Chandra, in Phulbari Haat, which was about 4–5km away from Narabari Bazar. Krishna Chandra also advised to take him Dinajpur Medical College Hospital immediately, said the statement.

At that time, Ratan called Swapan again and told him that his father had fallen seriously ill and asked him to send an ambulance from Dinajpur town.

At around 8:30pm, Swapan arrived at Phulbari Haat with an ambulance. By that time, Bhabesh's wife and brother-in-law had also arrived there. They rushed him to the medical college hospital at 9:18pm where doctors declared him dead after an ECG test, according to police statement.

The family took the body home and informed Biral Police Station at 11:45pm about the matter. Police arrived at Bhabesh's home around 12:30am and conducted an inquest.

"No marks of injury or signs of assault were found on the body," reads the statement.

However, police sent the body for autopsy to Dinajpur Medical College Hospital's morgue due to the family's suspicion. The body was later handed over to the family for cremation. The post-mortem report is expected soon, it said.

Dinajpur district police continued a thorough investigation taking the matter seriously, it added.