Staff Reporter:
A Dhaka court has granted permission to exhume the body of physician Nafisa Tabassum Dhipra for a post-mortem examination as part of the investigation into her death.
Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Mostafizur Rahman issued the order on Tuesday (7 July) following a petition filed by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), according to police and court sources.
The matter came to light on Thursday after investigative journalist Zulkarnain Saer shared details of the court order in a Facebook post.
According to the sources, the CID sought the court’s approval, stating that exhumation and a post-mortem examination were necessary to determine the actual cause of Dhipra’s death.
Dhipra died on 4 June. Following her death, relatives, friends and former classmates questioned the reported cause of death, described as cardiac arrest, and called for a proper investigation.
They alleged that she had been subjected to prolonged mental and physical abuse. They also claimed that she had been facing difficulties in her family life and had previously attempted suicide by taking medication. The allegations are now under investigation.
Her relatives further alleged that Dhipra had been abused by her husband, Dr Rahmat Rashid Siam, her mother-in-law and other members of her husband’s family. They also claimed that she had been confined to a room and deprived of food before her death.
Two days before her death, Dhipra shared a social media post referring to various aspects of her personal life.
A case was filed on 16 June under Sections 304A, 193, 197, 201, 109 and 34 of the Penal Code, alleging death by negligence, abuse and concealment of evidence through burial without a post-mortem examination.
The accused include Dhipra’s husband, Dr Rahmat Rashid Siam; her father-in-law, Dr Mohammad Abdur Rashid, head of the Cardiology Department at BIRDEM General Hospital; her mother-in-law, Siddika Sultana; and Simu Naser, editor of the satirical website Earki and son-in-law of Dr Abdur Rashid, along with several unnamed individuals.
