Mahbub Piyal, Faridpur 

The namaz-e-janaza of army soldier Titas Sheikh, 28, who was killed by armed criminals in Teknaf, Cox's Bazar, was held on Friday evening at the Laskardia Government Primary School ground in Nagarkanda upazila of Faridpur. Following the Maghrib prayers, he was laid to rest beside his maternal grandmother's grave at the local graveyard.

Earlier at 4:40 pm, the body arrived by an army helicopter at the Nagarkanda Mahendra Narayan Academy ground. Army personnel from the 15 Engineer Battalion of Padma Cantonment, led by Major Sohel, received the body. Following a guard of honor presented with state honors, the coffin was transported to his ancestral home in Laskardia village.

Upon the arrival of the body, relatives, neighbors, and local residents gathered to pay their final respects. The deceased's mother, Rekha Begum, father Afzal Sheikh, and wife Sumaiya Akter broke down in tears amidst grieving relatives. Members of the Bangladesh Army joined local residents in participating in the funeral prayers.

Family members shared that during a telephone conversation on Wednesday night prior to the operation, Titas had asked his mother for her prayers, stating he would join an anti-militancy operation the following afternoon. Tragically, he sustained fatal gunshot wounds during the operation on Thursday.

Titas had been married to Sumaiya Akter for four years, and the couple had no children; he had planned to bring his wife to his duty station this coming December. His father, Afzal Sheikh, is a retired army personnel, and his younger brother, Akram Hossain, currently serves in the army. Titas was the eldest among two brothers and a sister.

According to ISPR , a joint security operation against a human-trafficking syndicate was underway on Thursday afternoon in the Teknaf area of Cox's Bazar. During the drive, Titas was struck in the upper left side of his chest by bullets fired by armed criminals from the hills. He was initially rushed to the Leda IRC Rohingya Hospital and subsequently transferred in a civilian ambulance to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Ramu, where attending physicians pronounced him dead at 8:48 pm.

Titas was a member of the 1st Bengal Regiment of the Bangladesh Army and was stationed at the Rangikhali army camp in Teknaf. He had enlisted as a soldier in 2017.

Nagarkanda UNO  Rezwana Afrin confirmed that following completion of military protocols, the body was flown to Nagarkanda by helicopter on Friday afternoon and buried beside his grandmother in accordance with family arrangements.