Raudha's mother flies to Dhaka for support

Raudha's mother Aminath Muharrimath flew to Dhaka from Rajshahi yesterday to seek legal support regarding the death of her daughter -- a Maldivian student and a model who was found dead at a dormitory of Islami Bank Medical College in Rajshahi on March 29.

“Our embassy is there. Besides, my two sisters are living in Dhaka. I can get some help there,” Aminath, a staff at the human resource department of the Maldives Police Service, told this correspondent at Shah Makhdum Airport in Rajshahi before her departure around 3:15pm.

She said they need legal assistance, because their opinion regarding Raudha's death differs from the local authorities'.

“Local police provided us with some photographs of my daughter lying dead inside her room, but they declined to give us the autopsy report that claimed she committed suicide,” she said. “We want to know the cause of her death.”

Meanwhile, Maldivian police officials yesterday again spoke to the family members of Raudha and chief of the medical board that performed her autopsy.

In the morning, Chief Superintendent Mohamed Riyaz and Chief Inspector Ahamed Ali of the Maldives police, who flew to Rajshahi on Monday to assist Detective Branch of police in probing Raudha's death, spoke to the family members.

Raudha's father Mohamed Athif, a general physician in the Maldives, said, the family reiterated their points to the officials that they still believed their daughter was strangled to death.

Later in the afternoon, the officials met Prof Mansur Rahman, head of the three-member medical board that performed the autopsy, at the latter's office at Barind Medical College, said Inspector Rashidul Islam of Detective Branch of Rajshahi Metropolitan Police.

Contacted, Prof Mansur said, “I informed the Maldivian cops that the medical board gave the autopsy report maintaining standard.”

“I explained them that Raudha's death occurred due to asphyxia following hanging, which was suicidal in nature. Only her viscera report is yet to be given.”

The officials expressed satisfaction with the report, he claimed.

Contacted, Alamin Hossain, assistant commissioner of the Detective Branch, said they would not share the autopsy report with anyone for the interest of the investigation.

However, Ekramrul Haque, a lawyer at the Rajshahi court, said it is a legal obligation of the investigating authorities to satisfy the victim's family in regard to investigation. “The obligation increases when the victim's family is foreign guests.”

The family will get the copy of the autopsy report if they apply to any court as the document is meant to make public, he said.

This correspondent could not reach the Maldivian police officials for comments despite repeated calls and several text messages and visits to Rajshahi Circuit House where they were staying.