The hanging body of a female media worker has been recovered from a house in the capital. She was an employee of the new online media outlet Dhaka Stream.
It is reported that his body was recovered on Saturday evening.
The officer-in-charge (OC) of the capital's Sher-e-Banglanagar Police Station, Emaul Haque, told Prothom Alo that the woman's family members broke down the door of her house, rescued her and took her to a private hospital. Police recovered her body from the hospital yesterday and prepared an autopsy report. It will be known after the autopsy how she died. Her family has not yet filed any complaint with the police station.
The woman, who worked as a graphic designer at online media outlet Dhaka Stream, was among those who recently filed a written complaint against Dhaka Stream's Bengali content editor Altaf Shahnewaz for sexual harassment, according to information circulating on social media.
When contacted, Altaf Shahnewaz did not pick up the phone. Even after sending a message, no response was received.
There have been calls on social media for the accused to be reinstated in their jobs instead of being punished.
Dhaka Stream Editor-in-Chief Iftekhar Mahmud told Prothom Alo around 12:30 pm today that an official statement will be issued regarding the entire incident.
Dhaka Stream editor Iftekhar Mahmud resigned from Prothom Alo on February 9 and Altaf Shahnewaz resigned from Prothom Alo on May 16.
Dhaka Stream statement
A statement signed by Dhaka Stream's Human Resources and Administration Department Manager PM Sajal Ahmed regarding the incident around 4 pm said that a complaint was filed against Altaf Shahnewaz on July 13. Later, Altaf Shahnewaz was withdrawn from the newsroom and a two-member committee was formed to investigate the complaint. The decision to withdraw Altaf Shahnewaz from the newsroom was upheld after the investigation report found evidence of Altaf Shahnewaz's disrespectful behavior with colleagues in some cases. The employees expressed satisfaction with these decisions. Mentioning the name of the woman, the statement said that her death has nothing to do with the allegations against Altaf Shahnewaz. Currently, propaganda is being spread on social media based on the allegations made three months ago.
