The body of war hero Chitta Ranjan Dutta, Bir Uttam, widely known as CR Dutta, reached Dhaka on Monday morning from the US where he passed away on August 25 at the age of 93.

The coffin of commander of sector number four during the Liberation War arrived in Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) after 8:40am on Monday, airport sources said.

Earlier, an Emirates SkyCargo flight left for Dubai from Florida with Dutta’s coffin at 6 pm (local time) on Saturday, said his son-in-law Pradeep Dasgupta.

Dutta’s daughter Barrister Chayanika Dutta accompanied his body back to Bangladesh from Dubai.

Meanwhile, Dutta’s son and two other daughters have left New York for Dhaka on a Qatar Airlines flight on Saturday night. They are scheduled to reach Dhaka at 2:30 pm on Monday.

After arrival at the HSIA, Dutta’s body was taken to Combined Military Hospital (CMH) mortuary, said a Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad press release.

It said his body will be whisked off to Dhakeshwari National Temple premises, the city’s main Hindu temple, at 7:30am on Tuesday where he will be given state honour.

Earlier, his body will be taken to his Banani DOHS residence, it added.

Later, CR Dutta’s body will be taken to Rajarbagh Borodeshwari cremation ground at 11 am where military gun salute will be heralded before cremation.

A 1001-member national citizens’ committee was formed with Major General (rtd) KM Shafiullah, one of the sector commanders during the Liberation War, as the convener and journalist Shahriar Kabir as member-secretary to pay last tributes to Bir Uttam CR Dutta in proper manner.

Dutta was admitted to the Florida hospital as he broke his leg after falling in the bathroom at his daughter’s residence in USA on August 20. His physical condition deteriorated fast while undergoing treatment at the hospital.

Born on January 1, 1927, in Shillong, Assam, CR Dutta’s ancestral home is in village of Mirashi under Chunarughat upazila in Habiganj. His father’s name was Upendra Chandra Dutta and mother’s name was Labannya Prova Dutta.

He was founder Director General (DG) of the then Bangladesh Rifles, which is now called Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), former chairman of Bangladesh Muktijoddah Kalyan Trust and Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) and founder president of Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad.

CR Dutta was awarded the title of ‘Bir Uttam’ for his valiant contribution to the liberation war.

A city road from Kataban to Kawran Bazar signal has also been named after CR Dutta.