Police recovered a partially decomposed body of a freedom fighter from the bank of the Louha-jang river in Tangail town yesterday.

The dead was identified as Miah Mohammad Hasan Ali Reza, 76. He was a central committee member of Krishak Sramik Janata League and a practicing lawyer.

Saidul Haque Bhuiyan, officer-in-charge of Tangail Model Police Station, said Reza had been miss-ing since Monday.

Reza’s younger son Mahmudul Hasan Litu filed a general diary with the police station suspecting abduction of his father on Tuesday.

The next day, Litu filed an abduction case with the same police station in this connection.

During investigation, police found a footage of a closed-circuit camera that showed Reza getting on a motorbike driven by a man wearing helmet and raincoat.

Ahaduzzaman Miah, additional superintendent (crime) of Tangail police, said they detained four men in this connection.

On information from the arrestees, police found the body floating on the bank of the Louhajang river around 12:00 noon, he added.

“We already have clues to solve the mystery but cannot reveal those for the sake of the investiga-tion,” he said.

Narayan Chandra Saha, superintendent of Tangail General Hospital, said a five-member board conducted Reza’s autopsy.

The autopsy report will come out soon and reveal the cause of Reza’s death and other details, he added.

Maidul Islam Shishir, general secretary of Tangail District Advocate Bar Association, said, the gruesome killing of Reza left the district’s lawyers speechless.

He demanded exemplary punishment for the culprits.

Habibur Rahman Khan Khoka Bir Protik, general secretary of central unit Krishak Sramik Janata League, said the state failed to protect a brave freedom fighter like Reza.

The government should punish Reza’s killers as per the country’s law after conducting proper in-vestigation into the matter, he added.

“What crime did my 76-year-old father commit that he had to die in such a brutal way?” a wailing Litu asked.