MPS team leaves after five-day visit to Rajshahi, Bangaldesh

The two-member team from Maldives Police Service (MPS) left for Dhaka, Bangladesh on Friday, after concluding their visit to Rajshahi.

The team arrived in Rajshahi on April 3, in order to look into the death of the Maldivian student studying in Islami Bank Medical College in Rajshahi.

Raudha Athif was found hanging from the ceiling fan in her dorm room in the women’s hostel of the college on March 29.

While the initial autopsy report ruled the death a suicide, Raudha’s family disputed the report saying she was murdered, and sought the assistance of Maldivian authorities in uncovering the cause of her death.

Raudha's brother Rayyan Athif has also spoken to The Daily Star, saying that they “sought help from the Maldivian government after suspecting that someone else was using the Instagram profile of his sister”. Her Instagram account was deleted on Monday.

Since then, MPS has been able to unlock Raudha’s phone and obtain ‘crucial information’ in the case, but had not elaborated further as it is an ongoing investigation.

However, Dhaka’s The Daily Star reports that an official from Bangladesh’s Detective Branch, on the condition of anonymity, had said that Raudha had “a long conversation with her boyfriend on the night of March 28,” and that “it was evident from the conversation that she was very frustrated by her boyfriend’s behavior”.

Raudha’s father, Dr. Mohamed Athif told The Daily Star that he was shown part of the conversation and that “there was nothing abnormal”.

“The conversation proves that Raudha was frustrated and angry. I am sure my daughter was strong and capable enough to hold her nerves”, he told The Daily Star.

Noting that the police has taken the phone of one of her classmates, The Daily Star has also reported that Raudha’s mother, Aminath Muharrimath has also made an allegation towards the same classmate, even saying that the girl had attempted to drug Raudha once. The classmate denies the allegations.

While her mother says that Raudha was not close with this friend, reports indicate that the friend in question had accompanied Raudha to the hospital, the night before she was found.

The 21-year-old was studying medicine in Islami Bank Medical College, while making waves as a model internationally.

In October 2016, she became the first and only Maldivian to be featured on the cover of Vogue Magazine.