By Syed Altefat Hossain

DHAKA, Dec 2, 2024 (BSS) - Jahanara Begum, is stuck with countless pain as she lost her beloved son Md Imran during the student-people uprising.

Within a short span of time, she also lost her husband named Md Alam, popularly known as Alam Baburchi (chef) among locals, who died of cancer on May 14 this year, virtually making Imran the only breadwinner for his three-member family, including his mother and younger sister Sanjida Akter.

Besides, Imran's elder sister Shamima Akter got married eight years back.

But fortune did not favor 21-year-old Imran, who joined his father's profession as chef, as he succumbed to death on July 18 of a bullet wound he sustained during an anti-discrimination student movement, leaving his family devastated.

According to eyewitnesses, Imran sustained the bullet injury on July 17, when Jatrabari area including Kajla and Shonirakhra on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway turned into a battlefield following the student-people uprising with the participation of people from all strata. The movement finally ousted fascist ruler Sheikh Hasina.

As his family is a landless and homeless one, Imran was living with his family at a slum-type rented house at Rasulpur in the Kajla area of Jatrabari since his childhood while his father was running the family by working as chef at a restaurant.

Before his death, Imran had given advanced money for a two-room flat in the same area to live from November 1, where his mother and younger sister are now living.

"My son had advanced money for this residence before his demise, but fate did not allow him to live here," Jahanara, a housewife, told BSS in a heavy voice during an interview at her residence.

Imran's sister Sanjida, who passed HSC exams this year and is now waiting for admission into a university, said her brother was joining street protests along with students from July 15.

"My brother was going to the movement secretly since July 15 but never confessed the matter to us. On July 17, he went out of the house in the afternoon to join the movement without saying anything to us," she said.

When his mother was asking him not to go to the movement, Sanjida quoted his brother as he told, "Don't worry. Nothing will happen to me".

On the day, Imran along with student protesters was in front of Adarsha High School and College adjacent to Kajla bus stoppage of Dhaka-Chattogram Highway while police were firing bullets indiscriminately entering different lanes to disperse the protesters.

"My brother called me around 6.30pm from in front of Adarsha High School and College and asked me not to go outside, citing that the situation was very bad," Sanjida said, adding, soon after her conversation with Imran, a bullet "fired by police", according eyewitnesses, pierced right side of his head.

She added: "But we did not know where he was. Finally, we came to know that some students of A.K. School and College first took him to a local hospital.

Later, they took him to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) as the hospital referred him there".

At DMCH, Imran underwent surgery immediately on July 17 and subsequently was shifted to Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Sanjida said, adding, observing no significant improvement, doctors took him for another surgery around 1pm on the next day (July 18).

But, during the operation, his heart was found blocked, she said, adding, therefore, the doctor stopped the surgery and put him on life support.

"My brother did not return from life support, rather the duty doctor declared him dead around 6pm on the day (July 18)," Sanjida said.

However, the family had to bear lots of pain and wait for five days to release the body from the hospital as police of Jatrabari Police Station did not cooperate with them.

"When police were not helping us, our only target was how we could get the body released as we wanted to bury him with our own hands as many bodies were reportedly going missing at that time," Sanjida said.

Finally, they received the body on July 22 following an autopsy after filing a general diary with Shahbag Police Station.

As a terrifying situation was prevailing across Jatrabari area at that time, Sanjida said they could not arrange namaz-e-janaza of Imran at Rasulpur area, but brought the body there only for five minutes to allow relatives to have the last glimpse of him.

Later, Imran was buried at Jurain Graveyard at the night of July 22 following his namaz-e-janaza at the graveyard, she added.

Talking about Imran's sympathy to the student protesters, Sanjida said her brother used to talk about the law enforcement agencies' 'illegal' action against the protesters.

"When I told him that it is the matter of students, not yours, he told me, 'one day it will affect all of us'. Since I am a student; I also had sympathy for the movement. Therefore, I did not strongly oppose him," bereaved sister of Imran added.

"As I am his immediate younger sister, his memories always haunt me. I cannot forget him even for a while," Sanjida said in a heavy voice.

About any evidence of Imran's killing, she said they have no evidence as the people could not capture any video at that time since police were firing indiscriminately.

Besides, the police seized the hard disks of CCTV cameras of different offices and establishments in the Kajla area, she added.

Imran's mother Jahanara said she sent her son to Saudi Arabia with an overseas job with a hope of leading a better life. But, Covid-19 came as a nightmare for Imran as he could not manage a good job there due to the pandemic.

After struggling for four and a half years to manage a good job in Saudi, Imran illegally migrated to Jordan, she said, adding, few days after he migrated to Jordan, the security officials of that country sent him home on January 7 for illegal entry.

After returning home, he joined the chef profession with his father, the bereaved mother of Imran said, adding, "As we don't have even a piece of land as shelter, I was hoping to send my son abroad again to change our fate. But my fortune did not favor me".

"After demise of my husband, my son was the only breadwinner of the family. After the death of his father, Imran earned popularity as Chef. But after losing him, we are now heading towards an uncertain future," she said in a heavy voice.

Noting that Imran was very tall, handsome and hard-working, Jahanara said her son never sat idle at home, rather when he had no work as a chef, he used to pull a rickshaw.

Asked about how she is now running the family, she said, "I along with my younger daughter is now swimming in the sea of depression. Our relatives including the husband of my elder daughter extended their hands of cooperation to us".

Imran's mother, however, said July Shaheed Smrity Foundation, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and As-Sunnah Foundation have stood by them with financial support.
 
Weeping Jahanara wants trial of those who killed her son, saying, "I want to see Sheikh Hasina walking to gallows".