A graphic designer working for the online news portal 'Dhaka Stream' was found dead at her residence in the capital’s Sobhanbagh area on Saturday, police said.

The deceased was identified as Sornomoye Biswas.

Emaul Hoque, officer-in-charge (OC) of Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station, said Sornomoye had been inside her room when family members knocked on her door around 6 pm on Saturday. As there was no response, they unlocked the door with a spare key and found her hanging from the ceiling fan.

She was rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared her dead on arrival.

Police later recovered the body and sent it to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital for an autopsy. Following the post-mortem, the body was handed over to the family on Sunday.

An unnatural death (UD) case was filed by Sornomoye’s brother at the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station on Saturday night, said the OC.

In the wake of her death, a previous workplace complaint involving Sornomoye has resurfaced, prompting speculation on social media about a possible link.

On July 13, a formal complaint titled “Lodging complaint against inappropriate behaviour in the workplace” was submitted to Dhaka Stream’s Human Resources Department. Altaf Shahnewaz, Bangla Content Editor at the organisation, was named in the complaint, with Sornomoye listed as one of the complainants.

Following the complaint, Altaf Shahnewaz was immediately withdrawn from the newsroom, according to a statement issued by Dhaka Stream on Sunday.

The HR Department also formed a two-member investigation committee comprising PM Sajal Hossain, Head of HR, and Moriom Akter Sume, Executive – HR and Admin. After completing the inquiry, the committee upheld the decision to withdraw Altaf Shahnewaz from newsroom responsibilities.

The complainants welcomed the action taken, and Dhaka Stream subsequently finalised a code of conduct for all employees, the statement added.