Police have recovered the body of a BCS cadre doctor from a room at Aziz Super Market in the capital's Shahbagh area. Investigators said there were no immediate signs of foul play, and their preliminary assessment suggests she may have suffered a stroke, although the exact cause of death will be confirmed after an autopsy.
The deceased was identified as Farah Ferdous, 32.
Shahbagh Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md Moniruzzaman told Dhaka Tribune on Saturday morning that the room where the doctor was found had been locked from the outside.
He said the body had begun to decompose. Neighbours noticed a foul smell coming from the room on Friday afternoon and informed the police. Officers later broke open the door and recovered the body.
The OC said police do not suspect homicide at this stage. According to their initial assessment, Farah may have suffered a stroke, but the exact cause of death can only be determined after the post-mortem examination.
Dr Mohammad Asif Imran, a physician at the Department of Nephrology at Chattogram Medical College Hospital, told Dhaka Tribune that Farah had been two academic batches junior to him at Sir Salimullah Medical College.
He described her as an exceptionally talented physician who was only six months away from qualifying as a cardiothoracic surgeon. He added that relatively few women enter the speciality and that Farah had also qualified for the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) at a young age.
According to Dr Imran, Farah was unmarried and lived alone. He said she had been facing family-related difficulties and had reportedly been experiencing depression in recent months. He added that while stroke, heart attack and other causes were all possibilities, only the autopsy would determine the cause of death.
Farah's younger sister, Nazula Ferdous, also a doctor currently enrolled in a neurosurgery program at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), said she did not live with her sister.
She said she learned of the incident from local residents before going to Shahbagh Police Station. Police accompanied her to the room and, after receiving no response from inside, broke open the door. They found Farah sitting on a bed with her head resting on a table. Nazula identified the body.
Shahbagh Police Station Sub-Inspector Ekramul Haque said an inquest was conducted at the scene before the body was sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital morgue at around 6pm for an autopsy.
He added that Farah had last spoken with her sister on Tuesday and, according to family members, had no known serious physical illness.
Farah was a member of the 39th BCS (Health) cadre. She hailed from Phultala in Khulna and was the elder of two daughters of retired schoolteacher Abdur Rashid.