Autopsy finds ligature marks on Binisha’s neck

Nepalese medical student Binisha Shah was excited to be going home for the holidays this Friday after five long months in Bangladesh. The tragedy is, the third-year student of Pioneer Dental College will not be returning home for the festivities, but to be buried. Binisha, who hailed from Biratnagar in Nepal, was found dead in her hostel in the Vatara area of Dhaka on Tuesday afternoon after reportedly commiting suicide following an exam. Her roommate Roksa said: “Today (Thursday) was the last assessment test of Binisha’s class. She had booked a plane ticket for this Friday and was very excited about going home.” Dr Sohel Mahmud of Dhaka Medical College Hospital told journalists that a ligature mark was found on Binisha’s neck during her autopsy on Wednesday, which indicates she may have hanged herself. Binisha’s brother arrived in Dhaka at around 3pm yesterday and will receive the body after completing all formalities, Vatara police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Kamruzzaman said. Fellow students of Pioneer Dental College have alleged corrupt practices by college authorities had been putting them under a lot of stress. They claimed that the college authorities sought Tk2 lakh from students in exchange for identity cards, and only provided cards to those who paid the exorbitant sum. Students also alleged that the authorities purposely set tough questions and charged Tk50,000 to Tk70,000 from them for the issuing of pass certificates. The students said the questions for Tuesday’s exam were also set in a similar manner and that the teachers humiliated Binisha when she wanted to leave the exam venue half an hour before the test was due to end. Requesting anonymity, one college student told the Dhaka Tribune: “Binisha committed suicide because of the immense pressure from the teachers and college authorities.” However, Gulshan Division Deputy Commissioner Moshtaq Ahmed said teachers had caught Binisha cheating during the exam but still allowed her to continue giving the test. “Binisha willingly left the hall. She might have committed suicide out of disappointment but we are still investigating the matter,” he said. An unnatural death case was filed with Vatara police station in this regard.

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Also Read- Nepali student found dead in Dhaka

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College authorities seek more time

Students and interns at Pioneer Dental College staged demonstrations at the college from 10:30am until 2:30pm yesterday after issuing a 10-point demand following Binisha’s death. One of the organizers of the demonstrations, an intern at the college, Dr Salman Abdus Samad, told the Dhaka Tribune that the college authorities had given assurances that the demands will be met by January 1, 2018. “The college governing body Chairman Dr Rakibul Hasan Rumi and the college principal have assured us if we stopped our protest (so) we accepted their offer” he said. “The authorities at the college have stopped all exams, classes and told all residential students to leave their dorms. All CCTV cameras have been turned off. How can an educational institution function this way?” The students and interns at the college were demanding a proper investigation into Binisha’s death, an explanation of why all classes had been stopped, and an end to the practice of additional six-month fining system if a student fails in showing final proof. They also want the college to stop charging Tk25,000 even after charging admission fees for internships, stop charging additional Tk30,000 after charging session fees, introduce a fixed system like Dhaka University, pay interns according to World Health Organization guidelines, end a baseless fine system, stop allowing students who failed to take the final exam in exchange for money, and allow interns to form their own organization.