Prominent television actress and model Mita Noor was found dead at her Gulshan residence in the capital early Monday.
The life of the 45-year-old actress ended only two days after Gulshan police had to interfere in a domestic dispute with her husband, businessman Shah Noor Rahman Rana, on June 29, in the presence of their two sons.
“Personnel from the Gulshan thana had to interfere in a quarrel between the two,” said Deputy Commissioner Khandaker Lutful Kabir. The police official refused to divulge details about the argument.
Several of Mita’s friends and relatives told the Dhaka Tribune that family conflicts could have been the cause of her alleged suicide, although neither the police nor her family have yet confirmed the cause of the death.
Gulshan police Sub-Inspector Sabbir Rahman said: “Her husband Shahnoor Rahman called the station at around 5:30am, saying that his wife committed suicide in their house.
“A team rushed to the flat and reached at around 6:50am to find the actress’ body hanging from the ceiling fan of the drawing room.”
When the police tried to bring the body down, her father Fazlur Rahman stopped them and requested to wait until Criminal Investigation Department (CID) crime scene unit arrived. He also filed a case with Gulshan police in connection with the unnatural death of his daughter.
The body was brought out of the house at around 12:30pm and sent to Dhaka Medical College morgue for autopsy, after the CID team collected various required evidence.
Morgue sources confirmed that Mita Noor committed suicide, but police and forensic experts had collected samples for a viscera report to check whether she was poisoned before her death.
Hailing from Daudkandi upazila in Comilla district, Mita, who was married to Shanoor Rahman Rana of Homna Upazila in Comilla, leaves behind her two sons, Shehzad Noor Taus Priyo, and Shadman Noor Thamid Priththi.
Talking to journalists on the spot, elder son Shehzad Noor said: “The incident might have taken place at any time after midnight. But the cause behind it is unknown.”
Mita’s father Fazlur Rahman said she was having trouble with her husband. “They had a lack of understanding and Shah Noor used to torture her.”
Her mother Mariyam Begum told the Dhaka Tribune: “Rana informed me over phone about the death.”
“I had been passing the last three days in an unstable state of mind, and finally I had to watch the news of my daughter’s death on the television.”
A friend of Mita, wishing to remain anonymous, told the Dhaka Tribune that she used to be tortured by her businessman husband both “physically” and “mentally,” for being involved in the entertainment business.
However, others said Mita might have been angry about her husband’s “affairs.”
However, Shah Noor Rahman Rana would not speak to journalists about the death.
Mita’s driver Md Sabuj told the Dhaka Tribune: “I learnt of the incident, when I entered the house before 7:00am to drop off her two sons at school.”
He said Mita entered the house at around 10:30pm on Saturday, after which she did not leave again.
“On Saturday, madam behaved very badly with everyone either over phone or directly. In the afternoon on the day, she went to visit her parents at Khilgaon and then went to sir’s [Rana] office in the capital’s Niketan area," said Sabuj.
That night, she had dinner with her husband and two sons, Priyo and Tauz, at a restaurant and returned home at around 10pm. It was the last time the actress was seen going out.
Mita Noor completed her education at Eden Colege in 1991, within two years of graduating, she started her career with the weekly BTV drama series “Sagar Secha Shadh.” She rose to prominence in 1992 doing a TV commercial for Olympic batteries directed by Afzal Hossain. In 2011, she directed the drama “Chounggali.”
