Home Minister Salahuddin holds off comment on Tahsif Souri death before probe report
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has declined to comment for now after the recovery of the body of retired Air Force flight lieutenant Tahsif Souri, who had drawn attention as the person alleged to have filmed a video of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina leaving the country.
The cause of Tahsif’s death and whether anyone else was involved will only become clear after an investigation, the home minister said.
He made the remarks on Thursday afternoon in response to questions from journalists at the Bangladesh Police Academy in Sardah, in Rajshahi’s Charghat Upazila.
Personnel of the Tongi River Police Outpost recovered Tahsif’s body from the Turag River on Thursday afternoon.
Tahsif is said to have filmed the widely circulated video showing then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina leaving the country by aircraft from Kurmitola Airport on Aug 5, 2024.
Asked whether the incident could have stemmed from any hostility linked to the release of the video of the former prime minister’s departure, the home minister again declined to give his opinion before an investigation was completed.
“I don’t want to say anything about this yet,” Salahuddin said. “There has to be a preliminary investigation. The body is also undergoing a postmortem. We will speak after we know all the details.”
Another journalist raised concerns about the possible involvement of an intelligence agency of a neighbouring country.
The home minister replied: “I will speak once I know everything.”
In a podcast in July, Tahsif was asked whether he had lost his job in the Air Force for filming the video.
After a report by Amar Desh was published on Aug 4 last year, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), issued a rejoinder saying the report had claimed that two officers, including Tahsif, were sent into compulsory retirement over allegations of links to a foreign intelligence agency.
“In reality”, the two officers were retired under the Air Force’s prevailing laws and regulations, following due process and in different circumstances, ISPR said, adding that their retirement had no connection with the allegations.
