A graphic designer of the online news portal, Dhaka Stream, was found dead at her home in Dhaka's Sobhanbagh area yesterday evening.

The deceased was identified as Sornomoye Biswas, 28. She joined Dhaka Stream early this year as a trainee graphic designer.

Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station Sub-Inspector Saiful Islam, who is investigating the case, suspected it to be a case of suicide. The deceased used to live with her family. During the incident, her brother and sister-in-law were home; her parents were in their village home.

Her death came months after she, along with several colleagues, lodged a complaint against Altaf Shahnewaz, Bangla content editor of Dhaka Stream, alleging "inappropriate behaviour" in the workplace.

Following her death, many on social media raised questions about whether the complaint had any link to her death.

This prompted Dhaka Stream to issue a statement today, saying there was no connection between Sornomoye's death and the complaint filed against Altaf Shahnewaz.

"The current narratives on social media linking the two are baseless and misleading," the statement said.

It added that police had already decided to conduct an autopsy, and the organisation urged a thorough investigation into the matter. "Dhaka Stream will extend full cooperation wherever required," the statement added.

"As much as her brilliance as a graphics designer, her [Sornomoye's] sweet and empathetic nature will be acutely missed and the Dhaka Stream family is deeply mourning the passing of a wonderful human being," it added.

"While we are overwhelmed with grief, we have noticed certain types of campaigns circulating on social media centring Sornomoye's death."

Regarding the complaint, Dhaka Stream said, "It is to be mentioned that on July 13, a complaint titled 'Lodging complaint against inappropriate behaviour in the workplace' was submitted to the human resources department against Altaf Shahnewaz. Immediately after the complaint was filed, Altaf was withdrawn from the newsroom."

Subsequently, the HR department formed a two-member investigation committee, it said.

Following the investigation, the committee finalised the decision of withdrawal, the statement said, adding that the complainants welcomed the decision.

In addition, Dhaka Stream finalised a code of conduct for all its employees, it added.

Dhaka Stream further said that all colleagues were informed about the actions taken and were urged to remain mindful about such behaviour in the future.

The Daily Star tried to contact Altaf Shahnewaz for comments, but he did not respond.

An unnatural death case was filed with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station over Sornomoye's death, the SI said.