A female media professional was found dead at her residence in the Sobhanbagh area of the capital on Saturday evening.
The deceased was identified as Sornomoye Biswas, 28. She joined Dhaka Stream early this year as a trainee graphic designer.
Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station Sub-Inspector (SI) Saiful Islam, who is investigating the case, suspects it to be a suicide.
He added that Sornomoye lived with her family, and at the time of the incident, her brother and sister-in-law were at home while her parents were in their village residence.
An unnatural death case was filed with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station over Sornomoye's death, the SI said.
Sornomoye's death comes months after she, along with several colleagues, lodged a complaint against Altaf Shahnewaz, Bangla content editor of Dhaka Stream, alleging "inappropriate behaviour" in the workplace. Following her death, some social media users speculated about a possible link between the complaint and her passing.
In response, Dhaka Stream issued a statement on Sunday, denying any connection between Sornomoye's death and the earlier complaint.
"The current narratives on social media linking the two are baseless and misleading," the statement reads.
"The police had already decided to conduct an autopsy and urged a thorough investigation. Dhaka Stream will extend full cooperation wherever required,"
it added.
The organisation also noted that while it is overwhelmed with grief, it has observed certain social media campaigns focusing on Sornomoye's death.
Regarding the workplace complaint, Dhaka Stream said that on July 13, a formal complaint titled "Lodging complaint against inappropriate behaviour in the workplace" was submitted to the human resources department against Altaf Shahnewaz. Following this, Altaf was withdrawn from the newsroom.
The HR department then formed a two-member investigation committee. After completing the investigation, the committee confirmed Altaf's withdrawal, which was welcomed by the complainants, said the statement.
It also added that the organisation also finalised a code of conduct for all employees and informed staff about the actions taken, urging mindfulness about such behaviour in the future.
talhabinhabib@yahoo.com
