By Borun Kumar Dash
 
DHAKA, April 10, 2025 (BSS) – It was July 19, 2024. Turmoil situation was prevailing across the capital city since the law enforcement agencies launched a heavy crackdown on the protesters under the banner of Anti-Discrimination Student Movement.

Around 3pm on that day, Maya Islam, a resident of Meradia of Banasree area in the city took her grandson Basit Khan Musa, a nursery student, downstairs to buy ice cream from a shop under their residential building.

But they found the shop closed.

 Therefore, Maya and her grandson were waiting inside the main gate of their building.

 At that time, suddenly a bullet allegedly fired by police from outside struck Musa’s head, passed through and entered his grandmother's lower abdomen from behind.

Fifty-two-year-old Maya and her seven-year-old grandson Musa immediately fell onto the ground.

According to family members, Maya breathed her last the next day while she was being shifted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) from a private health facility at Banasree. Musa is now undergoing treatment in a Singapore hospital.

Talking to BSS, Maya Islam’s husband Mahbub Islam recalled that Musa’s mother Nisha Moni stopped Musa from going outside earlier when he asked her if he could go out to see what was happening outside hearing the sound of bullets.

Later, when the situation outside seemed relatively calm his grandmother Maya took Musa downstairs from their sixth-floor apartment to buy ice cream.

But Maya never returned home since “a fatal bullet fired by police killed her” along with causing critical injury to Musa during clashes between the protesters of anti-discrimination student movement, and the police and Chhatra League activists.

Maya and her husband Mahbub had been living with their son Mostafizur Rahman at a rented house in the city’s Meradia Haat area.

 Mostafiz is running an electronics shop in the city Malibag Bazar.

Recalling the fatal incident, Mahbub said that most of the time, Maya looked after Musa. 
She used to feed him, bathe him, and take him to school—she did everything for him.
Musa used to express his each and every demand to his grandmother.

On the fatal day, Mahbub recounted Musa had been insisting on having ice cream since noon. But due to the ongoing gunfire around the area, no one went downstairs.

But when Musa went downstairs with his grandmother and stood inside near the gate of the building, he said, suddenly, both the child Musa and his grandmother Maya collapsed to the ground before they could understand anything.

Maya was standing right behind Musa, Mahbub said, adding, a bullet pierced the top of Musa’s head, then entered his grandmother’s abdomen.

“Both were critically injured. Musa’s father, Mostafizur Rahman, who was nearby, immediately rushed them to the nearest hospital,” he said.

Though Musa is alive in a critical state, his grandmother breathed her last the next day.

Musa had been undergoing treatment at the ICU of DMCH for two days. Later, he was moved to the general ward. However, when his condition worsened, he was taken back to the ICU and placed on life support on the same day.

“I’ve lost my wife. My grandson is currently undergoing treatment in Singapore. His condition is a bit better now than before,” Maya’s grief stricken husband Mahbub said.

He added: “Even if he (Musa) survives, I don’t know whether he’ll be able to return to a normal life. 

The interim government sent my grandson to Singapore for better treatment on October 22, 2024. He is still being treated there.”

The irony of fate was that Mostafizur Rahman couldn’t have last glimpse of his mother as he was occupied at the hospital with his injured son Musa when his mother passed away.
He even couldn’t attend his mother’s burial in Tangail.

Talking about Musa, Mahbub said they had given up hope regarding his grandson- Musa. Some relatives were even discussing funeral arrangements, thinking of him as dead, he added.

“However, even at that time, the activists of the anti-discrimination student movement did not give up,” Mahbub said.

Noting that Musa’s condition is much better now, he said, however, it will take more time for him to fully recover.

Mahbub claimed that his grandson, Musa, is the youngest warrior of the 24 July Uprising.
He termed Musa’s survival nothing but a miracle.

Mahbub demanded justice for his martyred wife and injured grandson.

“After my wife embraced martyrdom and my grandson was injured, our family has become disarrayed.

 My son and daughter-in-law are with my grandson. I am now alone. We are not doing well,” he tried to control his emotion.

Mostafizur Rahman filed a case with the Khilgaon police station on November 1 last year over his mother’s death in gunfire.

A total of 87 people, including Sheikh Hasina, were accused in the case. Apart from Sheikh Hasina, former Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan have also been accused in the case.