United News of Bangladesh

A writ petition was filed with the High Court on Wednesday seeking an investigation into the death of a 75-year-old woman whose decomposed body was recovered from a flat in the capital's Pallabi area after allegedly remaining there unnoticed for around seven days. The petition also sought a judicial inquiry into whether there were any human rights violations in connection with the incident and called for the identification of the circumstances surrounding her death. Sharif Sarkar, a Supreme Court lawyer, filed the writ petition. Barrister HM Shanjid Siddiqi, who stood for the petitioner, described the incident as "heartbreaking and inhumane." On May 31, police recovered the body of Nurjahan Begum from a flat in Mirpur-11 (Pallabi) after receiving a call through the national emergency service 999. According to preliminary findings, she died seven to eight days earlier. The deceased was mother of four and her children are well-established in society, Shanjid said. He claimed that one of her children is a senior government official and another is a professor at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) while another lives abroad. The woman's daughter, a schoolteacher, lives in an adjacent room of the same flat but allegedly did not inform authorities of her mother's death, the lawyer said. In light of this tragic incident, the writ seeks a proper investigation and legal action to ensure accountability, he said. The petition also requested a judicial inquiry to determine whether negligence contributed to the situation and why no one took notice despite the body reportedly remaining inside the flat for several days. It also sought an investigation into the actual cause of death. Shanjid said the petition also sought court directives asking the government to introduce support systems for elderly citizens, including state-backed nursing or caregiving services similar to those available in some developed countries, to help prevent such incidents in the future.