Nayan Das served as a sebait (custodian) of the Shor Ghona Nag Panchami Temple in the Purbo Hamzar Dail area, Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Samiuddin of Cox’s Bazar Sadar Model Police Station told The Daily Star.

According to family members, he was allegedly called out of his house around 9:00 pm on Sunday (April 19), after which he went missing. Despite searches by relatives and locals, he could not be traced until his body was discovered on Wednesday, hanging from a tree with a cloth tied around his neck.

Police recovered the body and sent it for autopsy.

“The body has been sent for post-mortem after the inquest. It will be known after the autopsy report whether it was a murder or suicide,” OC Samiuddin said.

Cox’s Bazar Superintendent of Police Sajedur Rahman said that the victim’s wife had filed a missing person complaint and a case has been registered. An investigation is currently underway.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council has expressed concern over what it described as a continuation of communal violence in the country ahead of the 13th parliamentary elections.

In a press release signed by acting general secretary Monindra Kumar Nath, the council stated that 133 incidents of communal violence were reported in the media between January 1 and March 31 this year.