Prominent novelist Rabeya Khatun passed away on Sunday evening due to old age complications. She was 86.

She breathed her last around 6:00 pm at her Gulshan residence, said Habibul Huda Pintu, head of public relations department of Channel I.

Rabeya Khatun was born on December 27, 1935 to Maulavi Mohammad Mulluk Chand and Hamida Khatun in Bikrampur (now in Munshiganj).

She wrote over 50 novels and more than 400 short stories, as of 2008. Her works include essays, novels, research, short stories, religious history and travelogues.

She received Bangla Academy Literary Award in 1973, Ekushey Padak in 1993 and Independence Day Award in 2017.

Khatun worked at Khawatin magazine, edited by Jahanara Imam. She then worked as the editor of the literature section of the magazine Cinema along with Zahir Raihan. Later she became the editor of the monthly Angana.

Khatun is a council member of Bangla Academy. She is a member of the jury board of Bangladesh National Film Awards, Bangladesh Shishu Academy, Notun Kuri of Bangladesh Television.