The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court of Bangladesh on Tuesday granted permission to the country’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to exhume the remains of Maldivian medical student and model, Raudha Athif.
The CID had requested permission from the court to exhume Raudha’s body to conduct another autopsy as several suspicions have been raised regarding her death.
Raudha Athif was found “hanging” from the ceiling of her hostel room at Islami Bank Medical College and Hospital towards the end of last March. While Bangladeshi police have pronounced her death a suicide based on her first autopsy, Raudha’s family have objected to the report and declared she had been murdered, raising several suspicions on discrepancies surrounding the circumstances of her death. Subsequently, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court had ordered a strict probe into her death.
In response to the CID’s request, the Metropolitan Court’s Mahbubur Rahman issued an order stipulating that Raudha’s remains be removed in the presence of a magistrate appointed by the court.
The Daily Star News of Bangladesh cited an official of CID that a team from the investigation department has already inspected Raudha’s hostel room and other locations she frequented to expand the investigation. According to the Daily Star News, the CID team found that there were items in her hostel room which can be used for hanging for a person of Raudha’s height. The news website also cited the department that the double doors of her room could be forced without breaking the locks.
CID is yet to determine a date to exhume Raudha’s body. Meanwhile, the Daily Star News previously reported that Raudha’s family had objected to the prospect of exhumation.
A college mate of Raudha is also facing accusations of being connected to her death. The student is currently banned from travelling out of Bangladesh.
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