Bangladeshi Journalist Found Dead In Dhaka Lake, Had Said "Better To Die..."

A Bangladeshi TV journalist was found dead in a lake in the country's capital Dhaka today, according to the local media. The body of the journalist, identified as Sarah Rahanuma, 32, was found floating in Dhaka's Hatirjheel lake. 

Sarah Rahanuma was a newsroom editor at Gazi TV media house, reported local news outlet Dhaka Tribune. 

According to Dhaka Tribune, Sarah's body was found by a man named Sagar who brought her to a hospital. "I saw the woman floating in Hatirjheel Lake. Later, she was brought to DMCH, where doctors declared her dead," he said.

The son of ousted Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina, Sajeeb Wazed said that the death of Sarah Rahanuma is "another brutal attack" on the freedom of expression in the country. 

In a post on X, Mr Wazed said, "Rahmuna Sara Gazi TV newsroom editor was found dead. Her body was recovered from Hatirjheel Lake in Dhaka city. This is another brutal attack on freedom of expression in Bangladesh. Gazi TV is a secular news channel owned by Golam Dastagir Gazi who was arrested a recently."

A night before her death, Sarah posted a Facebook status in which she tagged a man named Fahim Faysal, said Dhaka Tribune. In the post, she wrote, "It was nice having a friend like you. God bless you always. Hope, you'll fulfill all your dreams soon. I know we had a lots of planning together. Sorry, can't fulfill our plannings. May god bless you in every aspects of your life,"

In another post, Sarah wrote, "It is better to die than to live a life akin to death."

According to the report, the incident has been reported to Hatirjheel police station. Inspector Bachchu Mia, in charge of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), said that her body was kept at DMCH morgue.