An injured female garment worker, who had survived the deadliest factory disaster “Rana Plaza collapse”, was found dead in her residence yesterday.
The husband of the deceased claimed that she “committed suicide” for mental stigma and unbearable pain she was suffering from her injuries she received from the building collapse.
The victim was Salma, 27, who had been living for the last two months in a rented house with her husband Babu, a bus helper, in Bamnartek area in the capital’s Turag.
Police recovered the hanging body of Salma from the house around 11am after Babu informed them.
A Sub-Inspector of Turag police station Kamal Hossain quoting Babu said Salma sustained injuries to her head and body in the building collapse on April 24 last year. She had severe headache and also suffered from mental stigma.
“Babu claimed that she committed suicide failing to bear the pain,” he said.
Police, however, detained Babu for questioning.
According to Babu, Salma worked at a factory on the sixth floor of Rana Plaza, where more than 1,135 workers died and hundreds injured when it collapsed.
Salma was rescued from under the debris three days after the building had collapsed. She was under treatment for many days in a hospital but did not recover fully.
“She used to bump his head against the wall when her pain became unbearable,” Babu told police.
He said they had so far got Tk60,000 as aid from the government and organisations following the incident.
In the inquest report, police said Salma became “mentally imbalanced” in the wake of her illness and her husband claimed that they used to lock into quarrel often.
“They fell asleep after having dinner Thursday night and around 6am in the morning Babu noticed her hanging. As the incident needs to be investigated further, the body has been sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for autopsy,” the inquest report reads.
Officer-in-Charge of Turag police station Sheikh Farid said they talked with the neighbours who said the victim was a bit mentally imbalanced since the collapse.
