A cultural activist was found dead at her house at Uttar Mallik Road in Barishal city on Wednesday. The deceased was identified as Samsunnahar Nipa, 25, daughter of Fazlul Karim of the area. Aklima Begum, sub-inspector of Kotwali Model Police Station, said Nipa used to live with her sister Dalia. When Dalia woke up in the morning, she found Nipa hanging from a ceiling fan of the house, said Aklima. Read: Newly married woman found hanging in Thakurgaon Nipa was a member of Udichi Shilpighoshti, Barishal and ‘Bashial Natok’, a cultural  organisation. On information, police recovered the body of Nipa and sent it to a local hospital morgue for autopsy. Azimul Karim, officer-in-charge of Barishal Kotwali Model Police Station, said primarily it is suspected that Nipa killed herself. “Actual reason behind the death will be known once autopsy report is available,” he said. 

Ekushey Padak and National Film Award winner, freedom fighter and renowned cultural activist Nasiruddin Yousuff Bachchu has tested positive for COVID-19. The eminent cultural personality was admitted to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital (BSMMU) in the capital on Friday, with symptoms of the coronavirus. The test result came out positive on Saturday. "Our Dhaka DocLab chairman Nasiruddin Yousuff is currently receiving treatment at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital (BSMMU). He is advised to take rest and he requests his admirers and associates not to panic at all. We are seeking prayers from everyone for his speedy recovery," Dhaka DocLab coordinator Shoriful Islam Shaon told UNB. One of the pioneers and most respected personalities in the theatre arena of Bangladesh, Nasiruddin Yousuff founded Dhaka Theatre in 1973 and later Bangladesh Gram Theatre along with the late playwright Selim Al Deen. Yousuff is currently serving Dhaka DocLab as its chairman, Bangladesh Gram Theatre and Dhaka Theatre as president and Bangladesh Centre of International Theatre (BCITI) as organising secretary, to name a few. A former president of the Sammilita Sangskritik Jote, he has also served as the president and director of the Committee for Cultural Identity and Development (CIDC). In his illustrious career, Nasiruddin Yousuff received the National Film Award as the Best Director for his critically acclaimed film Guerrilla (2011). He was awarded Ekushey Padak by the Government of Bangladesh in 2010 for his outstanding contribution towards the development of the theatre industry in Bangladesh. Also read:9,600 unemployed cultural activists get financial assistance during pandemic: State Minister