Model and medical student Raudha Athif, known as the “Maldivian Girl With Aqua Blue Eyes,” was found by her classmates hanging from a ceiling fan in her dorm room on Wednesday.
Athif, 21, was a second-year student at Islami Bank Medical College in Bangladesh. She is believed to have committed suicide using a scarf to hang herself, according to VIBE.
Shah Makhdum Police Station officer Zillur Rahman said that her friends initially thought that she was still alive.
“We primarily suspect it is a suicide case. However, we can’t come to any conclusion until we get the autopsy report,” said Rahman.
Athif’s body was taken to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital morgue for an autopsy, according to the Daily Star.
Mahmuda Begum, the superintendent of the female hostel Athif was staying in, said the model “always looked happy,” adding that “it is hard to believe she would commit suicide.”
“I was in my chamber. Suddenly, I heard screams of my students,” Begum said. “Rushing to the second floor of this six-storey building, I saw some of the students trying to break the door of Athif’s room.”
The 21-year-old first came into the spotlight in 2014 after being photographed by photographer Sotti emerging from the ocean in a photo called “Maldivian Girl With Aqua Blue Eyes.”
Athif also rose to international fame for gracing the cover of Vogue India in October 2016, posing alongside other models for a “Beauty in Diversity” photoshoot.
Athif had dreamed of helping other people as a doctor.
“Modeling is a hobby rather than a career for me, since I’m studying to become a doctor,” Athif said in an interview with Vogue.
