Sources said her driver around 9:30 am yesterday lost control of the vehicle and crushed her against a wall as she was waiting for the car at the car park.

She was first taken to Bangladesh Orthopaedic Hospital and later shifted to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Dhaka where she slipped into a coma. She died at 8:00 pm there.

CMH sources said she also had a cardiac arrest while she was at the Orthopaedic Hospital.

She had received severe injuries to her head, legs and hands. She lost a huge amount of blood due to continuous bleeding as arteries and veins of her legs were crushed. The doctors gave her more than 20 bags of blood as they could not stop the bleeding.

Nasreen had her 15-month-old daughter in her arms at the time of the accident but her daughter did not receive any injuries, sources said.

The driver became shell-shocked following the accident and was undergoing psychological treatment; he was also injured in the accident, Action Aid Bangladesh sources said.

Nasreen did her masters degree in nutritional sciences from the University of California at Berkeley.

Before joining Action Aid Bangladesh Nasreen had been an activist and a leader in Naripakkha, a women's rights organisation in Bangladesh, since 1988. She founded and led the Campaign Against Acid Violence, one of her projects in Naripakkha.

Nasreen also coordinated Naripakkha's Health Team and Safe Motherhood Programme and led other campaigns and events. She was also employed as a senior policy advisor at Helen Keller International.

She held positions on numerous national and international committees, including the Gender Advisory Committee of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; the Gender Advisory Panel, Special Programme on Human Reproduction at the World Health Organisation; and the Advisory Committee on Asia, Pacific Research and Resources on Women and Health.

She was wife of Nurul Islam Bhuiyan Chotan, managing editor of Dainik Jay Jay Din.