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Published : 16 Jun 2026, 06:03 PM
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the police has been assigned to investigate the death of doctor Nafisa Tabassum Dhipra in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi in a case against four people, including her doctor husband, father-in-law and mother-in-law.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Jewel Rana's court accepted a petition to file the case on Tuesday and ordered an investigation of the claims.
The case accuses Dhipra's husband Dr Rahmat Rashid, her father-in-law and head of the cardiology department at BIRDEM Mohammad Abdur Rashid, her mother-in-law Siddika Sultana and satirical website Yarki Editor Shimu Naser.
Several others have also been listed as unidentified suspects.
The case alleges negligence leading to Dhipra’s death, torture and, concealment of evidence by burying her without a postmortem.
Lawyer Md Mashiur Rahman Shah filed the petition with the court on Tuesday.
When asked, Mashiur said, “I have no relationship or contact with Dr Dhipra’s family. I also have two daughters; I filed the case out of distress so that others may stand by them in such a situation.”
The court accepted his deposition and then kept a decision pending.
In the afternoon, it ordered the CID to investigate.
Abu Shahin, bench assistant at the court, said a CID official at the rank of assistant superintendent of police (ASP) or above must investigate the allegations and submit a report by Jul 16.
Deputy Attorney General Md Farhad Hossain Niyon represented the plaintiff and the petition at the hearing.
The case documents says Dhipra married her classmate Rashid after the two became involved in a romantic relationship.
They have a 2-year-old son.
It says, following the marriage, Dhipra was subjected to “physical and mental torture” by the family.
"As a result, she suffered from severe depression. After giving birth, she suffered from post-partum depression, high blood pressure and diabetes,” the case documents said.
"Despite being a doctor, the suspects neglected her necessary medical treatment and care. She was also hindered in different ways during her preparation for the FCPS (Fellow of the College of Physicians and Surgeons) exam. Before her death, she had posted about domestic abuse in a Facebook group called 'Female Doctors in Bangladesh'."
It added, "For three straight days from Jun 2, Dr Dhipra was locked in a room. During this time she was not given food, and not allowed to see her 2-year-old child. On Jun 4, her mother got word of the situation and went to her flat at Basati Green Housing in Dhanmondi. She found her daughter locked up and requested that the lock be opened.”
“Later, Dr Dhipra came out of the room, hugged her mother and said, ‘Mom, I want to eat a meal’. After that, she collapsed onto the floor. After she fell ill, she was not immediately taken to a nearby hospital. Instead, there was a delay and she eventually died on the way to BIRDEM Hospital.”
The plaintiff’s statement alleged that after Dhipra’s death, a death certificate was obtained “without a postmortem with the intention of suppressing the incident” and the burial was conducted quickly.
The plaintiff’s lawyer Farhad said, “There was a delay in taking legal action initially because the suspects were influential and the deceased’s parents were religious and helpless.”
When contacted, one of the suspects Dr Abdur Rashid said the family was already in trauma after the loss of a relative and remained concerned about the child left behind by Nafisa.
He said they had been in regular contact with Nafisa’s parents, who were with her during her illness and final moments.
He also said they had heard that a case was filed on Monday, but that Nafisa’s family had told them they did not know the complainant and had had no contact with them.
