After days of confusion, Ovisruti Shastri, the female journalist who died in the Bailey Road fire on Fdebruary 29, has finally been identified as Brishty Khatun.
Her identity was confirmed as the samples of her DNA matched those collected from her parents – Sabuj Sheikh alias Shablul Alam and Beauty Khatun, said the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Sunday evening.
A student of the Philosophy Department of Eden College in the capital, Brishty was among the 46 people who died in the devastating fire in the seven-storey Green Cozy Centre. Most of the people went there for dinner with friends and relatives.
After her death, she was identified by her friends and former colleagues as Ovisruti Shastri.
However, her parents claimed from the beginning that she was Brishty.
As Sabuj and Beauty are Muslims while Ovisruti Shastri represents a Hindu name, confusion over the deceased’s identity kept deepening after that.
Her identity was confirmed 11 days after the DNA samples were collected.
A former reporter of TheReport.live, Brishty hailed from the Bongram village under ward No 7 of Betbaria union parishad at Khoksha Upazila of Kushtia.
Her birth registration, college certificate and NID identify her as Brishti Khatun.
CID’s Deputy Inspector General AKM Nahidul Islam said the DNA was detected on Saturday.
“The investigation officer of the case (filed over the fire) has been updated. He’ll take the next course of action,” he added.
Meanwhile, Ramna police station Officer-in-Charge Utpal Barua said the CID did not immediately report the development to them.
“If the DNAs match, her body will surely be handed over to her family,” he added.
When contacted, Brishty’s parents said they were waiting to receive her corpse and that they were not informed about the updates as of Sunday evening.
On February 29, Ovisruti went to dine at the popular biriyani joint Kacchi Bhai at Green Cozy Cottage on Bailey Road, accompanied by Tushar Howladar, another young journalist. They were colleagues at The Report Dot Live, an online media outlet, before Tushar left to join an online multimedia company.
But tragedy struck when a fire tore through the seven-storey, claiming the lives of 46 people, including Ovisruti and Tushar.
While the remains of 43 victims have been returned to their loved ones, the handover of Ovisruti`s body had been held up due to uncertainty surrounding her identity.
Known as Ovisruti Shastri among her colleagues, her name is also listed as such on Facebook. Additionally, she was known for her regular visits to the temple for prayers.
Various discrepancies have since been uncovered in the birth registration certificate, national identity card, Eden College admit card, and job birth certificate of the woman, who was in her 20s.
Although her birth certificate, issued on Oct 23, 2022, lists her name as Ovisruti, the father`s name is noted as Md Saburul Alam and the mother`s name as Beuty Begum.
Her name is also listed as Ovisruti Shastri in her job resume, however, her mother`s name is recorded as Aparna Shastri.
The date of birth recorded on both her birth registration certificate and birth certificate is Dec 25, 2000. However, the national identity card states her date of birth as Dec 25, 1998.
Discussions surrounding Ovisruti`s religious affiliation have also surfaced on social media.
