Jhalokathi, Sept 21 (V7N) — Police recovered the hanging body of 37-year-old lawyer Shamim Hossain Joy late on Saturday night from a rented house in the Chandkathi area of Jhalokathi town. Officers say a handwritten note was found at the scene and that a preliminary investigation indicates the death may be a suicide; a full inquiry is underway.
 
Police were alerted shortly after 10:00 pm on Saturday, Sept. 20, and officers from Jhalokathi Sadar Police Station recovered the body from a house in the Chandkathi neighborhood, Officer-in-Charge, (OC) Moniruzzaman said. The deceased was identified as Advocate Shamim Hossain Joy, 37, a native of South Dudharia village in Dapdapia Union of Nalchity Upazila and the son of Mozammel Haque Molla. Joy was a member of the Jhalokathi Lawyers’ Association and had been living in rented accommodation in Chandkathi because of his legal work in the district.
 
Family members told investigators that Joy suffered from chronic lower-back pain and other ailments for which he had obtained a passport to seek medical treatment in India; police recovered that passport from the scene. A handwritten note found at the scene states that he had been unable to bear his physical pain and mental stress any longer and that he had chosen to take his own life. The police have taken the note into evidence and have sent the body for post-mortem examination; forensic results and the post-mortem report will form part of the ongoing probe.
 
Oc Moniruzzaman said initial findings point to suicide, but stressed that the case will be treated with due diligence and that investigators will examine all possibilities before reaching a final conclusion.
 
Translated text of the handwritten note (as recovered)
“My body is infected with a disease whose outcome I cannot avoid. I can no longer endure the physical pain and the mental pressure. After much thought, I have chosen the path of suicide. No one is responsible for my death. I have understood my mistakes and regret them. If anyone misunderstood me, please forgive me.”
 
Police said the body will undergo a post-mortem examination and that investigators will interview family members, neighbors and colleagues, review any CCTV or telephone records where available, and compile medical records to establish the circumstances leading up to his death. The final cause of death will be confirmed in the post-mortem report and subsequent police findings.
 
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