Syed Altefat Hossain: Md Bablu Mridha, a construction worker, succumbed to bullet injuries on September 19 after fighting for life for nearly two months.
Bablu sustained the bullet injury on July 19 in the Shanirakhra area of Jatrabari while he was looking for his 17-year-old son Md Abu Talib, who joined the anti-discrimination student movement on that day.
“My father went to Shanirakhra to find me as I along with thousands of people joined the movement on that day. But suddenly a bullet fired from a helicopter hit his chest and got stuck inside the belly,” Bablu’s bereaved son Talib said at an interview with BSS recently.
Talib, an 11th grader at Dania University College, was living with his day laborer father in Gualbari Mor area of Dania in Jatrabari while his mother Seema Begum and two and a half year-old brother Md Mahim Hasan are living at village home in Dashmina Upazila of Patuakhali district.
He said his father told him that three people including him sustained the bullet injuries at around 8.40pm while some unidentified people rescued them and took them to different hospitals.
Mourning Talib said his father was first taken to a private hospital in Dholaipar area while the duty doctor referred him to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).
Although Bablu received the injury in the evening, his son said he came to know about his father around 2am as he got the news through a long channel.
“When my father was taken to DMCH, a police officer from our neighbors recognized him and called the chairman of our union. Later, the chairman informed my uncle in the village. Finally I got the news around 2am and immediately went to the hospital,” Bablu’s son Talib said in a heavy voice.
After reaching the hospital, he was informed that his father was taken to the operation theatre of the DMCH. Referring to his father, Talib said some people at the DMCH wanted to throw away his father thinking he had passed away while the police officer saved him.
Bablu received treatment at the DMCH for one month and 20 days, later he was shifted to Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Dhaka, where he breathed his last in the morning of September 9.
Following the postmortem, Talib said they took his father’s body to their ancestral home in Dashmina Upazila of Patuakhali district and buried him at the village graveyard.
He said his family bore the treatment cost until the downfall of the fascist government on August 5 in face of the student-people uprising while the subsequent government bore treatment cost for the rest of the time.
“We spent about Taka 100,000 to 150,000 for my father’s treatment until August 3 while the (interim) government bore the remaining cost from August 4 after the downfall of the (Awami League) government,” he added.
About joining the movement, Talib said his father was a supporter of Bangladesh National Party (BNP). He used to join programmes declared by BNP regularly.
“As a student, I was taking part in the student movement from the beginning. But my father joined the movement when it turned into a student-people uprising from July 17 with participation of people from all strata,” bereaved son of Bablu said.
He said that he also joined the demonstration in the Sanirakhra area on that day, but the irony of fate is that — a bullet separated him from his father forever.
According to eyewitnesses, Jatrabari area, including Kajla, Shonir Akhra and Rayerbag on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway, turned into a battlefield since July 17 as people of all ages and genders joined the street demonstration under the banner of anti-discrimination student movement.
They said when the government was apparently able to suppress the movement in different parts of the city after imposing curfew on July 20, the Jatrabari area remained under the control of protesters until the downfall of the fascist government on August 5.
After the death of his father, Talib said his family is going through a dire situation as his father was the only breadwinner of the family.
“My father was living in Gualbari Mor area for 20 years and working as a construction worker. He used to bear my education expenses and send money to the family, including my mother and small brother in village,” Talib said in a heavy voice.
But he is now bewildered about his study as he has already been forced to join as a construction worker to support his mother and small brother.
“I don’t know whether I could continue my studies as it is very difficult to continue study side by side working,” Talib said in an emotion-choked voice.
He got admitted into Dania University College after passing SSC from his village high school with a GPA 3.44. Earlier, he studied at schools in the Dania area from class three to eight. But due to the economic crisis, he went to the village and passed SSC from there.
Noting that they have no land or property, Talib, who is now living in a bachelor mess in Dholaipar area, said “We are actually a hand to mouth family. Now, I can earn about Taka 10,000 to Taka 12,000. From this amount I bear my cost and send money to my mother”.
He said since his father’s death, they did not get any assistance either from government or private initiative except a local BNP leader gave them Taka 50,000.
“We will never get back my father, who used to see dreams centering me and encouraged me to study. If the government helps us to run the family, I would be able to continue my studies. And if the government gives me a suitable job after completing my study, my family will be benefitted,” the bereaved son of Bablu said.
Asked about his mother’s contact number, Talib said his mother does not use any mobile phone.
