Bloodied body of woman recovered from DMCH bathroom

Police recovered the bloodied body of an unidentified woman from a bathroom at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) on Monday morning, with investigators yet to determine whether she died by suicide or was killed and her body was hung there.

The body of the woman, believed to be around 28, was recovered from Room 4 of a bathroom between Wards 110 and 111 at around 10am, according to hospital sources.

The incident has raised questions after a blood-stained black steel fruit-cutting knife and bloodstains were found near the second gate of the conference room in the hospital’s administrative block several hours before the body was recovered.

A hospital cleaner, Mahmud Sheikh, said he went to clean the women’s bathroom at around 10am. Following routine practice, he knocked on the doors of the individual rooms and asked occupants to come out. When there was no response from Room 4 for a long time, he became suspicious.

He, along with two other cleaners, Russell and Kamal, then tried to open the door. After gaining access, they found the woman bloodied and hanging inside the room. They informed hospital security personnel and senior authorities, who subsequently alerted Shahbagh police.

Earlier in the morning, between around 6am and 6:30am, cleaner Kashi Pelli Santosh reportedly found a blood-stained black steel knife lying outside the second gate of the conference room in the administrative block.

Santosh said he was instructed by senior officials to clean the area after the knife was found. He later washed the knife and kept it with him.

He said he learned four to five hours later that a woman had allegedly been killed and hanged in a bathroom near Wards 110 and 111. However, he did not witness the woman’s death.

DMCH Assistant Director Dr Shayla Ferdous Ahsan said she learned in the morning that a woman had been found bloodied and hanging inside a bathroom. She later asked hospital security personnel whether they had noticed anything suspicious.

She said bloodstains and several drops of blood had been found outside the second gate of the conference room. Hospital authorities initially did not consider the blood unusual, as blood is sometimes found on hospital floors because of injuries or disputes involving patients.

According to Dr Shayla, the area was cleaned with a Glotex solution, while the knife was kept by the cleaner.

She said CCTV cameras cover the area and footage could help investigators determine what happened.

Members of the Criminal Investigation Department’s crime scene unit and Detective Branch police were present at the hospital as Shahbagh police began collecting evidence.

Shahbagh police officer-in-charge Mohammad Moniruzzaman said police went to the hospital after receiving the report. He said investigators were collecting evidence from the scene and reviewing CCTV footage to determine the actual cause of death.

Further legal action will be taken after the investigation, he added.