The director of Rajshahi Medical College Hospital has said there is a strong possibility that the intracranial bleeding, or brain haemorrhage, Jasmine Sultana suffered before her death was caused by the injury she bore on her head.

Talking to UNB on Tuesday night, Brig Gen FM Shamim Ahmed also said they found no sign of high blood pressure or any other aggravating medical condition affecting her while she was under treatment at RMCH.

“There was a bruise on her head. Of course it is possible the intracerebral haemorrhage was caused by this head injury,” he said. 

“We found no sign of high blood pressure or any other medical condition,” he added.

He would however still defer to the final post-mortem report into her death, which is yet to come out.

Sultana, 38, an office assistant of Naogaon Municipality-Chandipur Union Land Office, was picked up by a Rab-5 patrol team last Wednesday (March 22) in connection with a DSA case while she was walking to work in the morning.

Later that day, she was taken to Naogaon Sadar Hospital and then to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital, where she breathed her last on Friday (Mar. 24), according to hospital authorities.

In her death certificate, the cause of death is stated as "irreversible cardio-respiratory failure due to intracerebral haemorrhage" and the time of death is 10:00am.

Read more: Custodial death of Sultana: HC raises questions about RAB’s jurisdiction

Intracranial bleeding or intracerebral haemorrhage (bleeding into the brain tissue) is the second most common cause of stroke (15-30% of strokes) and the most deadly, according to the American Association of Neurological Surgeon.

It remains a mystery as to how Sultana sustained the head injury. While she was being admitted at RMCH, RAB officers told hospital officials she had suffered a fall. But in subsequent statements, including on Tuesday, RAB have denied she had any injuries at all, maintaining she fell ill soon after being detained.