After weeks of uncertainty surrounding her identity, authorities have confirmed that the female journalist tragically killed in the Bailey Road fire on February 29 was Brishty Khatun. The police made this confirmation following a DNA match between samples collected from her parents, Sabuj Sheikh (also known as Shablul Alam) and Beauty Khatun, and those found at the scene of the fire.
Brishty, a student of the Philosophy Department at Eden College in Dhaka, was one of the 46 individuals who lost their lives in the fire at the seven-storey Green Cozy Centre. Initially identified by friends and former colleagues as Ovisruti Shastri, confusion arose due to the discrepancy between her reported pen name and her parents' identification of her as Brishty.
Hailing from the Bongram village in Khoksha Upazila of Kushtia, Brishty's birth registration, college certificate, and national identity card all confirm her identity as Brishty Khatun. The CID, after collecting DNA samples and conducting tests, confirmed the match on Saturday, 11 days after the samples were taken.
Despite this confirmation, authorities had not immediately informed Brishty's family. Her parents expressed their desire to receive her body for proper burial once the necessary formalities were completed.
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