Shahed to be buried beside his mother, in keeping with final wish

Singer Sheikh Shahed Ali, best known for the song Rokzana, will be buried beside his mother at the Gopibagh Panchayet Committee Cemetery in Dhaka on Friday, November 13, following his death at the age of 63.

His funeral prayer will be held after Asr prayers at Baitun Noor Jame Mosque in Gopibagh's Arai Lane area. The burial arrangements are being made in accordance with his final wish.

Shahed's friend and media professional Ershadul Haque told Prothom Alo that the singer's body had been taken from the hospital for its final rites before being brought to his residence in Gopibagh. From there, it will be taken to the mosque for the funeral prayer.

The musician died at 10:05am on Friday while receiving treatment at a private hospital in the capital.

Shahed had been suffering from kidney complications for an extended period and required regular dialysis. His condition deteriorated recently following a stroke, dengue infection and other health complications. He was placed on life support on Thursday after developing severe bleeding.

His illness also put an end to plans to release a collection of new songs he had spent 11 years preparing. The singer had been working towards releasing 24 tracks under the G-Series label, with a launch event scheduled for November 6 at the Krishibid Institution in Dhaka. The programme was cancelled as his health worsened.

A planned trip to Delhi this month for a kidney transplant was also called off.

Shahed was the founder of the band Gachh and had been active in music since the 1990s. He became widely recognised through Rokzana. His other popular songs include Upolobdhi, Classroom-e Boshe Shekha, Utpakhir Dim, Khola Chul and Prem Ashbei.

His debut album, Probhu, was released in 1991. He went on to release five more albums.