Female physician sets herself on fire, dies in Mymensingh

Dead body

Mymensingh, June 25 (UNB)-A female physician committed suicide by setting herself on fire after posting a Facebook post on Tuesday.

The deceased was identified as Dr. Aparna Basak Rupa, 30, who had been living with her mother Josna Basak, in a rented ground-floor apartment in Panditbari area of Mymensingh city for the past two months.

She was the daughter of late Ratan Basak from Sarishabari upazila in Jamalpur. Aparna Basak was employed at a private hospital in Mymensingh city and had completed her MBBS from Mymensingh Medical College earlier.

Quoting the victim’s mother, Anwar Hossain, inspector of Kotwali Model Police Station, said Aparna had dinner and went to bed around 10pm on Monday.

On Tuesday morning, between 7to 8am, her mother noticed a sad Facebook status posted by Aparna and tried to call her. When Aparna did not respond, local residents broke down the door, extinguished the fire, and informed police and Fire Service, he said.

Earlier in the morning, she posted a status saying, "Be well. I can't take it anymore. Maybe I've lost in everyone's eyes. I'm freeing myself."

She tagged an individual in the post, but the police have requested not to reveal the name for the sake of the investigation.

Inspector Anwar also said that Aparna set herself on fire between 4 to 5am after posting the status. Preliminary it seemed that the suicide caused by love affair though the family has not commented on this aspect.

The body was handed over to the family after an autopsy on Tuesday afternoon, he said, adding that police are taking necessary legal steps regarding the incident. - UNB