Bangladesh first-class player Kuntal Chandra dies aged 28

Kuntal Chandra, a Bangladesh first-class cricketer, has died aged 28. The police had recovered his body from Turag, in the outskirts of Dhaka, on Monday, and according to police statements in local channels and newspapers, Kuntal died of strangulation.

A wicketkeeper, Kuntal was part of the Bangladesh side in the 2000 Under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka. He later played only three first-class matches, for Chittagong Division and Sylhet Division, but was a regular in Dhaka club cricket. Kuntal was to appear for Bangladesh Biman in the First Division Cricket League of Dhaka this season.

His elder brother Kowshik Chandra filed a case with the Turag police at noon on Monday against a number of unnamed people. "[Kuntal Chandra] Papon was strangled to death as no stab injuries were found," Turag police officer-in-charge ABM Ziaul Karim told New Age.

The police found the body at around 8:30am on Monday and sent it to Dhaka Medical College that evening for the post-mortem. The inquest report said the body bore severe marks of injuries and torture.

The police suspect that he might have been killed while returning to his rented house in Kalachandpur. His family said they were unable to reach him on his mobile phone since he had started his journey from Dhamrai to Dhaka at about 8pm on Sunday after attending a family programme.