A Carleton student was found dead behind the South Keys Plaza on the morning of Nov. 27, according to an Ottawa Police major crime spokesperson.
The student was identified as 23-year-old Tausif Chowdhury in a statement released by Ottawa Police.
Chowdhury was an international student studying engineering at the university, according to his friends quoted in the Ottawa Citizen.
“Carleton University is deeply saddened to learn of the death of Tausif Chowdhury,” read an emailed statement from Chris Cline, Carleton’s media relations co-ordinator. “As the Ottawa Police Service is conducting an investigation into his death, Carleton cannot comment on the case.”
Chowdhury was found on the morning of Nov. 27 by a cyclist who was travelling along the bike path behind South Keys Plaza on the side of Airport Parkway, according to Ottawa Police.
Friends described the international student as friendly and smart in interviews with the Ottawa Citizen, and expressed disbelief that anyone would want to cause him harm.
“He was very generous, he was very kind, for something like this to happen to him, I would never think about it,” Sirajum Munir Mim, Chowdhury’s former roommate, told the Citizen. “He was friends with everyone. All colour, all races, all backgrounds. He’d be just hanging around with everyone.”
According to a statement released by police, Chowdhury’s family, who resides in Saudi Arabia, have been notified.
The Ottawa Police are conducting an ongoing investigation, according to their spokesperson, but are not releasing any names of possible suspects or further details at this time.
