Burying of Nahida in Madaripur

Preparations have been completed for the burial of Bangladeshi student Nahida Sultana Brishti, 26, who was killed in the US state of Florida. She is scheduled to be laid to rest beside the graves of her grandparents in her ancestral village in Madaripur following funeral prayers after Asr on Saturday.

Earlier in the day, at 9:10am Bangladesh time, a coffin carrying Nahida’s body arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on an Emirates Airlines flight via Dubai. Her parents, maternal uncle and other family members received the body at the airport before travelling directly to Madaripur.

Nahida’s ancestral home is in Char Gobindapur village under Khoajpur Union in Madaripur Sadar Upazila. Her father, Jahir Uddin Akon, has been living with his family in Mirpur, Dhaka, for more than two decades and works for a private life insurance company in the capital. Nahida was the younger of two siblings.

She had been pursuing a PhD in Chemical Engineering at the University of South Florida in Florida. Family members said relatives and neighbours began gathering at the family home from Saturday morning after news of the body’s arrival spread through the area.

Nahida’s cousin, Obaidur Akon, told local media that she was known within the family for her academic dedication and modest character. He said relatives were struggling to accept the circumstances surrounding her death.

Speaking to Prothom Alo by telephone, her father said airport authorities formally handed over the body at approximately 10:45am on Saturday. He added that the family then left immediately for Madaripur, where funeral prayers and burial arrangements had already been finalised.

According to family sources, Nahida achieved GPA-5 in her Secondary School Certificate examinations in 2014 from Nahar Academy High School in Dhaka. She later obtained the same result in Higher Secondary examinations from Shaheed Bir Uttam Lt Anwar Girls’ College. She completed her undergraduate studies in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Noakhali Science and Technology University and later enrolled in a postgraduate programme at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology.

Before completing her postgraduate degree, she received a fully funded PhD scholarship from the University of South Florida and travelled to the United States on 25 August 2025.

Nahida and fellow Bangladeshi student Jamil Ahmed Limon went missing on 17 April. Limon had also been pursuing a PhD at the same university in Geography, Environmental Science and Policy. Following the incident, authorities arrested Hisham Abughraibeh, Limon’s roommate and a former student of the university, in connection with the killings.

Local time on Wednesday, Nahida’s first funeral prayer was held in Tampa. Her body was later sent to Dhaka from Orlando International Airport at 8:50pm on Thursday local time. A representative from the Bangladesh Consulate in Miami was present during the transfer process. The body of Jamil Ahmed Limon had arrived in Bangladesh on 4 May.

The University of South Florida has posthumously awarded doctoral degrees to both Nahida Sultana Brishti and Jamil Ahmed Limon.