Limon, killed while studying in the US, to be laid to rest next to grandparents in Jamalpur

A pall of mourning has descended on the Laldoba area of Jamalpur’s Madarganj Upazila, the ancestral home of Zahid Ahamed Limon, the Bangladeshi student killed while pursuing higher studies in the US state of Florida.

Limon will be buried in the family graveyard next to the graves of his paternal grandparents after Maghrib prayers on Monday evening, his uncle Ziaul Islam said.

“Limon’s body will arrive in our home village around 4pm. After Maghrib prayers and a funeral prayer at the Laldoba Government Primary School grounds, he will be buried in the family graveyard next to the graves of his paternal grandparents,” Ziaul said.

The Emirates flight carrying Limon’s body, EK 582, arrived at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 8:59am on Monday.

Family members received the body at the airport before it was taken to Jamalpur.

Limon, a graduate of Khulna University, was pursuing a PhD in geography, environmental science and policy at the University of South Florida. He had been missing since the morning of Apr 16.

Another PhD student from the same university, Nahida Sultana Bristy, had also gone missing around the same time. Bristy, a former student of Noakhali Science and Technology University, was studying chemical engineering.

Their families could not contact them and found their phones switched off. They later contacted police responsible for the university area.

On Apr 24, Limon’s body was found near a local bridge. Police later informed Bristy’s family by phone that she had also been killed.

Limon’s uncle Ziaul said Limon’s father, Zahurul Haque, moved to Dhaka with his family in 1994 and they have lived in the capital since then. They occasionally visited their village home.

Limon passed his Secondary School Certificate examinations from Maona Model High School in Gazipur in 2014 and his Higher Secondary Certificate examinations from Birshreshtha Munshi Abdur Rouf Public College in 2016.

He then completed his honours degree at Khulna University. Ziaul said Limon enrolled at the University of South Florida in July 2024 to pursue a PhD.

Limon’s death has cast a shadow of grief over his family, friends and local residents. They have called for justice over the killing.