Mystery over university girl’s death

A young woman was found dead in Dhaka's Siddheshwari area on Wednesday night.

She was identified as Rubaiya Sharmin Rumpa, 21, a second-year student at the English department of Stamford University Bangladesh.

Rumpa might have been raped before being murdered, said the forensic doctor who performed an autopsy on her body.

"She might have been raped. We have not received the details yet. Samples had been collected from the victim's body and had been sent to the forensic department for further details," said Sohel Mahmud, the head of Dhaka Medical College's forensic medicine department.

The girl's hands, legs, waist and spinal cord were fractured, he also said.

Meanwhile, locals suspect Rumpa died after falling from a building as they heard a thud before finding her motionless body on the street.

Rumpa's father Rokon Uddin, a police official posted in Habiganj, filed a case over the incident against unidentified attackers on Thursday.

Police said they are yet to find out the reason for the death and are now investigating the incident.

"We are investigating the rape accusation. Next to the site, there are three high-rise buildings, including a women's hostel, but no resident could identify her.

We have collected pieces of evidence and the case is under investigation," said Monirul Islam, the officer-in-charge of Ramna police station.

The victim used to live with her mother and younger brother at the capital's Shantibag area. 

What happened on the day Rumpa died?

Rumpa had met her ex-boyfriend Abdur Rahman Saikat on the day she died, claimed Saikat.

"We agreed on a mutual breakup after my father had died in March this year. But she always insisted me getting back to her. I refused her all the time as I had to shoulder the responsibility of my family," said he.

"On Wednesday night, she met me and told me to go back to her as always," Saikat said, adding that he returned home after refusing Rumpa.

There was one unknown female friend with Rumpa, said Saikat, when he left the campus.

"Later, I saw on social media and TV channels that she was no more. I do not think she took her own life for a breakup that happened 8-9 months ago," he claimed.

Rumpa left home empty-handed, even without her mobile phone, and wore a flip-flop, said her uncle who had a suspicion that she had been murdered and friends might have been involved in it.

Rumpa was laid to eternal rest in her ancestral home in Habiganj.

Protest on university campus

Demanding justice for the alleged murder of Rumpa in Siddheshwari-Malibagh area of Dhaka, students of Stamford University on Friday launched a protest.

They formed a human chain and organised a protest march.

On Friday morning, they gathered on the university campus in Siddheshwari and claimed that Rumpa's death was a "planned murder".

"She was not the kind of girl who could commit suicide. We think the murder was planned. We will continue our protest peacefully," said Rakhil Khondoker, a fourth-year student of the university.