Photo: Collected

By Syed Altefat Hossain

DHAKA, March 3, 2025 (BSS) – Md Akkas Ali, a 44-year-old plastic 
factory worker, stepped out of his rented house in the Muradpur area of 
Jatrabari in the afternoon of August 5, 2024 to celebrate the victory 
following the fall of 16-year autocratic rule.

But the moment of triumph turned into an unspeakable tragedy as he 
“was shot dead” in front of Jatrabari Police Station when he joined the 
victory procession after autocratic ruler Sheikh Hasina fled the country in 
face of the student-led mass uprising.

Akkas’ sudden death shattered his family, leaving them struggling to 
survive as he was the only breadwinner of his three-member family.

Now, his wife, Lovely Akter (40), and their 19-year-old son, Abdur Rab, 
are facing an uncertain future, battling financial hardship with no 
substantial aid in sight.

Abdur Rab, a student at a Qawmi Madrasah in the Khudar Bazar area of 
Shanir Akhra, vividly remembered the last meal he had with his father.

“On August 5, my father returned home from his factory for lunch after 
Zohr prayers while I also returned home from the procession of anti-
discrimination student movement. We, including my mother, had lunch 
together and took a short rest before leaving the house,” grief stricken 
Rab recalled the last moment with his father.

He said after leaving the house he went towards Kutubkhali to join the 
victory procession as by that time Sheikh Hasina had resigned and fled 
the country, but he could not know that his father had joined the 
procession too at Dholaipar area of Jatrabari.

According to his family members, Akkas was not involved in politics. He 
had never spoken about the anti-discrimination student movement. Yet, 
he had joined the procession to witness the history—the fall of Sheikh 
Hasina’s rule. But that decision cost him his life.

“As my father had no interest in the country’s politics, we thought he 
would go to his workplace. But, later, I came to know that he joined the 
procession in front of Jatrabari Police Station under the Mayor Hanif 
Flyover when I was just on the Flyover,” Rab said.

After the procession, he returned to his Madrasah during the time of 
Maghrib prayers. But when he was attending a class after the prayers, a 
teacher called him aside and told him to go home; saying that one of his 
family members had sustained bullet injury. But he had no idea that his 
father had been shot.

What awaited him at home was beyond his worst fears. “After returning 
from Madrasah, I found my father’s lifeless body lying on a Khatiya 
(dead body carrier) in front of our local mosque,” Rab recalled the 
heartbreaking moment as he was trying to control his emotions.

Akkas’ grieving widow, Lovely Akter, recalled that around one and half 
an hour later her husband left the house, Nayem, the son of the factory 
owner, came to their house around 3.30pm and informed her that Akkas 
had been taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) with a bullet 
injury.

Someone had used Akkas' phone to call Nayem, saying that the phone’s 
owner was in critical condition. But by then, Akkas was already gone as 
a bullet pierced his chest and exited through his back. But the caller did 
not have the courage to tell the truth.

“Hearing the news, I thought it might have minor injuries like rubber 
bullets. However, I called my younger brother-in-law, Md Razzaque Ali, 
and sent him to the Dhaka Medical,” Lovely said, her voice weighed 
down with grief.

“But reaching the hospital, Razzaque found his brother’s lifeless body 
there,” she lamented.

Razzaque along with one of his friends brought Akkas’ body home 
before Maghrib time. Akkas was laid to eternal rest the next morning at 
Jurain graveyard while Rab administered his father’s namaj-e-janaza.

Recounting the horrifying situation on that day, Rab said he himself 
narrowly escaped bullets several times while he saw many bodies lying 
scattered on the street in front of Jatrabari Police Station.

Originally from Sreenagar Upazila in Munshiganj, the family has been 
living in the city’s Dania area for 40 years. They own no land or home. 
Akkas’ father Md Sona Miah and mother Momela Khatun died decades 
ago. Akkas’ only younger brother, Razzaque, lives nearby, but he, too, 
struggles with financial constraints while all of his four sisters are 
married.

Speaking about their daily battle for survival, Lovely said in a sobbing 
tone, “A husband is everything for a woman. But I lost him forever. Now, 
we have no one except Almighty Allah”.

Their only son, Rab, is now juggling his studies with tutoring students to 
help keep the family afloat. “But it barely covers our daily expenses after 
paying for my education,” he said.

Despite their dire condition, the family has yet to receive any assistance 
from the July Shaheed Smrity Foundation. Lovely Akter, however, 
pleaded for immediate financial aid and a government job for her son.

About how they run the family now, Lovely said they got Taka 2 lakh 
from Jamaat-e-Islami and Taka 1 lakh from the As-Sunnah Foundation 
after her husband’s death, which helped them to survive.

Seeking justice for her husband, Lovely said, “We filed a case with 
Jatrabari Police Station over my husband’s death. I want capital 
punishment for those responsible for killing Akkas.”