A Bangladeshi student, who had gone missing for 10 days in Cyprus’s Larnaca, was found dead, with local police recovering his decomposed buried body, family claims.
The victim, Shahriar Ahmed Imon, 22, was a resident of Lochanpur village under Uttar Bakhar Nagar Union of Raipura upazila in Narsingdi. He was the son of Nasir Mia, a Bangladeshi expatriate living in Greece.
Cyprus police have arrested a Bangladeshi national, identified as Shahin Babu, 22, in connection with the killing.
Family members alleged that although Shahriar had already been murdered and buried, unidentified individuals continued using his WhatsApp account over the 10-day period to demand ransom from them.
According to relatives, Shahriar went missing on the night of June 11 after leaving Oroklini to join a new job in Larnaca. His body was recovered on Sunday from an area in Kofinou, Larnaca.
Family members claimed Shahriar’s body and the knife allegedly used in the murder were recovered based on information provided by the suspect. However, the accused’s permanent address in Bangladesh has not yet been confirmed.
Family members said Shahriar had enrolled in a university in Cyprus through an online admission process while still in Bangladesh. He travelled to the Mediterranean country on a student visa around three months ago and had been living in the Oroklini area of Larnaca.
Shahriar’s mother, Papiya Begum said she last spoke to her son on the afternoon of June 11. During the conversation, he told her he would be joining a new workplace that night. He shared the same information with his father and his roommate, Raihan Mia, who also lives in Cyprus.
According to the family, Shahriar reached his workplace around 9:00pm local time and sent his location to Raihan. Shortly afterwards, all communication with him stopped.
Around 10:00pm, a message was sent from Shahriar’s WhatsApp account to his father, claiming he had been kidnapped. The sender demanded a ransom of 35,000 euros for his release and threatened to sell his organs if the money was not paid.
Initially, the family believed his WhatsApp account had been hacked. However, when he failed to return home the following morning, concern deepened. Raihan later filed a missing person report with local police.
Papiya said ransom demands continued daily even after Shahriar went missing. The family, desperate for his safety, eventually agreed to pay Tk 500,000.
Shahriar’s younger brother, Nayon Ahmed said, “As the police could not show any significant progress, we agreed to send the ransom money. After negotiations, the amount was settled at Tk 500,000. On Sunday afternoon, we went to a bank to transfer the money. Before sending it, we requested to speak with Shahriar once. They refused. We then returned home. Later that evening, around 8:00pm, we learned that Cyprus police had recovered Shahriar’s body. Raihan and other acquaintances in Cyprus confirmed the news.”
Raipura Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Masud Rana said the administration had received information about the recovery of the body of a student from Raipura who had been studying in Cyprus.
“However, the matter has not yet been officially communicated through the Bangladesh embassy or relevant authorities. If the family seeks government assistance, the administration will take the necessary steps,” he said.
