Dhaka: A 32-year-old woman TV journalist in Bangladesh was found dead in a lake in Dhaka on Wednesday and was identified as Sarah Rahanuma, a newsroom editor at Gazi TV, which is a Bengali satellite and cable television channel owned by Gazi Group. Her body was found floating in Hatirjheel Lake in Dhaka, according to Dhaka Tribune.
Inspector Bachchu Mia, in charge of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) police outpost, had confirmed the recovery of Sarah's body. Her body was pulled out of the lake by pedestrians and taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), where the doctor declared her dead around 2:00 am (local time).
A man named Sagar, who brought Sarah to the hospital, said: "I saw the woman floating in Hatirjheel Lake. Later, she was brought to DMCH, where doctors declared her dead.” Ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's son Sajeeb Wazed Joy gave a political angle to the death, calling it a "brutal attack on freedom of expression."
"Rahmuna Sara Gazi TV newsroom editor was found dead. Her body was recovered from Hatirjheel Lake in the Dhaka city. This is another brutal attack on freedom of expression in Bangladesh. Gazi TV is a secular news channel owned by Golam Dastagir Gazi who was arrested a recently," said Joy on X.
Journalist's cryptic final message on social media
A day before her body was recovered, Sarah reportedly went to work but did not return home that night, according to her husband Sayed Shuvro. He was informed around 3 am that she had jumped into the waters of Hatirjheel Lake.
"I called her and said, 'You are coming home tonight anyway, so why did you send the money with someone else?'. She told me she was busy and cut the call. Later, around 3 am, I heard that she jumped into the lake," said Shuvro. He also informed that Sarah had been expressing a desire to separate from him for some time. They had planned to visit a Kazi office to finalise their divorce, but due to the current situation in the country, they could not do it. What added to the mystery of Sarah's death was her final message on Facebook.
Sarah posted a status on her Facebook on Tuesday night tagging one Fahim Faysal. "It was nice having a friend like you. God bless you always. Hope, you'll fulfil all your dreams soon. I know we had a lot of planning together. Sorry, can't fulfil our plans. May god bless you in every aspect of your life," she wrote.
In an earlier post, she wrote: "It is better to die than to live a life akin to death." She replied to the post with a comment, "I'll die today", which has been widely circulated on social media. She was also suffering from clinical depression and was receiving treatment, her family and friends told bdnews.24.
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