Cox's Bazar  Correspondent 

The hanging body of a student was recovered from a hostel of Harvard International College in Cox's Bazar Sadar under mysterious circumstances; police have taken his roommate, also a fellow student, into custody for questioning.

However, the victim’s family alleges that he was murdered following a dispute and then his body was hanged to stage it as a suicide.

The incident took place on Thursday afternoon at the hostel of Cox’s Bazar Harvard International College in the Uttar Dikkul area of Jhilongja Union, Cox's Bazar Sadar upazila.

The deceased, Munir Chowdhury (18), was the son of Mozammel Haque Chowdhury of Painnashia area in Jaliapalong Union, Ukhiya upazila. He was an 11th-grade student in the Humanities department of Cox’s Bazar Harvard International College.

In police custody is Mahmudul Haque (18), a student of the same college, grade, and department. He was also staying in the same hostel room as the deceased.

The deceased’s cousin, Arafat Chowdhury, said that around 2:30 PM, he was at Ukhiya’s Court Bazar station when he received a phone call from his uncle informing him about Munir’s hanging body being found in the college hostel room. Upon hearing the news, he and other family members rushed to the scene, where they found the hostel room surrounded by police and a large crowd.

“After entering the room, we saw Munir’s body hanging from the ceiling. Both his knees were touching the floor, and his hands were hanging down along the sides of his body,” he said.

The deceased's uncle, Mir Morshed, said that there were visible finger marks on both sides of Munir's neck. He initially suspected that due to a dispute, someone — either the roommate or another person in the hostel — had strangled him to death, then staged it as a suicide by hanging the body before fleeing.

Cox’s Bazar Sadar Police Station OC Elias Khan said,  a police team visited the scene after receiving the news and recovered the hanging body from the hostel room.

Commenting on whether it was a murder or suicide, he said, “Police have not yet confirmed the cause of death. An investigation is underway to unravel the mystery behind the incident.”

The body has been sent to Cox’s Bazar District Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsy, added OC Elias Khan.