Rights activists have raised questions regarding the role of the Dhaka Stream authorities in handling allegations of sexual harassment brought on by many of its employees, including Sornomoye Biswas.
The body of Sornomoye, a trainee graphic designer of online news portal Dhaka Stream, was recovered from her home in the capital鈥檚 Sobhanbagh area Saturday evening. The police suspected it to be a case of suicide.
Her death came three months after she, along with 26 other colleagues, lodged a complaint against Altaf Shahnewaz, the Bangla content editor of the news portal, alleging 鈥榮exual harassment鈥� and 鈥榠nappropriate behaviour鈥�.
Women鈥檚 rights body Naripokkho, in a statement on Monday, said that an investigation was needed to determine whether the sexual harassment complaint was related to Sornomoye鈥檚 death.
The organization questioned whether the news portal authorities formed a committee regarding the complaint as per the directive issued by the High Court in 2010 to prevent sexual harassment and resolve complaints related to it.
It also questioned whether the complaint was investigated impartially.
Naripokkho demanded an impartial investigation into every complaint brought against Altaf Shahnewaz.
Meanwhile, five prominent women鈥檚 rights activists Rahnuma Ahmed, Gitiara Nasreen, Mirza Taslima Sultana, Saydia Gulrukh, and Samina Luthfa wrote to Dhaka Stream鈥檚 editor-in-chief, Golam Iftekhar Mahmud, about the complaint and demanded transparency regarding the investigation.
The letter said, 鈥榃e want to know what steps you, as a senior official, took in accordance with the High Court鈥檚 directives regarding this complaint.鈥�
Following Sornomoye鈥檚 death, many people on social media raised questions about whether the complaint had any link to her death.
Condemning the current social media narratives as 鈥榤isleading,鈥� the Dhaka Stream, in a statement on Sunday, claimed that there was no connection between Sornomoye鈥檚 death and the complaint filed against Altaf Shahnewaz.
