A female doctor's body was recovered from a flat in the Aziz Super Market building in the capital's Shahbagh area on Friday.
The deceased was identified as Farah Ferdous, said Sub-Inspector (SI) Ekramul Haque of Shahbagh Police Station.
The body was found in a decomposed state.
Locals from nearby rooms alerted police after detecting a foul smell coming from the flat. Police later recovered the body in the presence of the deceased's sister, Nujla Ferdous. The body was found sitting on a bed with its head resting on a table, he said.
The body was sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital morgue for an autopsy after the completion of legal formalities.
The SI said the exact cause of death would be known after the autopsy report is received.
Quoting family members, he said Farah had been living in the building for a long time while pursuing a cardiovascular course at Bangladesh Medical University (BMU). She was a 39th BCS cadre.
Farah was the daughter of Md A Rashid of Paigram village in Phultala upazila of Khulna.