The body of a female journalist was found in Hatirjheel Lake in the early hours of 28th August in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. She was identified as 32-year-old Sarah Rahanum a newsroom editor at Bengali language Gazi Television (GTV) and lived in Kallyanpur. She had spent three years as an employee of the media company. The report was verified by Inspector Bachchu Mia, who oversees the police outpost at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) and informed, “The incident has been reported to Hatirjheel police station.”
The body was seen floating in the lake, according to Mohammad Sagar, one of the pedestrians who carried it to the hospital. “I saw the woman floating in Hatirjheel Lake. Later, she was brought to DMCH, where doctors declared her dead.” According to her family members, she was murdered.
“It was nice having a friend like you. God bless you always. Hope, you’ll fulfil all your dreams soon. I know we had lots of planning together. Sorry, can’t fulfil our plans. May god bless you in every aspect of your life,” she wrote on her Facebook status on the night of 27th August and tagged a person named Fahim Faysal. “It is better to die than to live a life akin to death,” she declared in an earlier post. The body was kept at the DMCH morgue, per Inspector Bachchu Mia. According to the police, an inquiry will be undertaken to ascertain the reason behind her death.
Sayed Shubhra, Rahnuma’s spouse, claimed that they got married seven years ago following a romantic relationship but kept their families in the dark. There were no arguments between them. However, she had been longing to go her own way for a while. They intended to conclude their divorce at the registrar’s office, but the current situation of the nation prevented them from doing so. He was informed around 3 am that she had jumped into the waters of Hatirjheel Lake.
The deceased was the daughter of Noakhali Press Club President Bakhtiar Shikder. Rahanuma reportedly left her Segunbagicha office at 9:00 pm on 27th August and was found dead a few hours later. Her corpse was observed by locals floating beneath Hatirjheel’s first bridge at around 12:30 in the morning. She was pronounced dead at Dhaka Medical College Hospital at around 2:00 am after a group of people collected her body and brought her there.
Meanwhile, Sajeeb Wazed, the son of the ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina Wazeb who lives in the United States, called the incident “another brutal attack” on the freedom of expression in the country in a post he shared on X (formerly Twitter).
Rahmuna Sara Gazi TV newsroom editor was found dead. Her body was recovered from Hatirjheel Lake in the Dhaka city. This is another brutal attack on freedom of expression in Bangladesh. Gazi TV is a secular news channel owned by Golam Dastagir Gazi who was arrested a recently.
— Sajeeb Wazed (@sajeebwazed) August 28, 2024
“Gazi TV is a secular news channel owned by Golam Dastagir Gazi who was arrested recently,” added Sajeeb Wazed. Bangladesh has been facing a severe political and economic crisis following the student protests as brutal violence, especially against the minority Hindu community grabbed international headlines.
