A 75-year-old woman has been discovered dead in her Dhaka residence, lying undiscovered for several days despite sharing the apartment with her daughter. The tragic incident has drawn widespread public attention due to the stark estrangement between the deceased and her highly successful children, who include a senior government official and a prominent university academic.
Police recovered the decomposed remains of Nurjahan Begum from her Mirpur-11 flat on Sunday following an emergency alert. Authorities were initially notified by a healthcare worker who had been hired to tend to the elderly woman. Upon arriving at the premises for her shift, the nurse found Begum deceased and immediately contacted the national 999 emergency helpline.
Law enforcement officials described the living conditions within the apartment as severely neglected. The premises reportedly contained refuse and emitted a strong odour, indicating that Begum had passed away long before authorities were alerted.
The situation has brought to light a profound breakdown in family relations. While Begum resided with her daughter—a local schoolteacher whom police suspect may be experiencing severe mental health challenges—neither of her two sons maintained any contact with their mother. One son currently serves as a Joint Secretary in the government, while the other is a faculty member at the prestigious Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET).
Md Hasan Basir, Officer-in-Charge of Pallabi Police Station, confirmed the matter on Tuesday, adding that the family dynamics were very unusual. Basir pointed out how disconnected the siblings were when the BUET academic provided the officers with the elder brother’s contact number – a Citycell mobile number that has been out of service since 2011. The response said that the brothers had not seen each other for more than ten years.
The authorities have carried out an autopsy as per standard legal procedures and relatives have reportedly carried out the burial. An unnatural death case has been formally registered at the Pallabi Police Station as investigators continue to review the broader circumstances surrounding the woman’s tragic and isolated passing.
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