Hafiz Md Sumon Patwari. Photo: Collected

DINAJPUR, April 10, 2025 (BSS) – Hafiz Md Sumon Patwari, 21, son of a van driver from a rural area of Chirirbandar Upazila of the district, went to the capital Dhaka one year back for a job at a garment factory in the hope of alleviating his family's hardships.

But he returned home as a corpse as he came under attacks carried out by Awami League activists and finally was shot dead by law enforcement agency members when he joined the ‘March to Dhaka Programme’ in the morning of August 5 last year.

Sumon joined the march in the Ashulia area of Savar on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka under the banner of anti-discrimination student movement aimed at ousting the nearly 16-year autocratic rule.

The movement succeeded in achieving the target, but he never returned home, nor he could witness the victory of the cause he fought for since he was “shot dead” in the Baipail area on the Gazipur-Dhaka Highway in Ashulia around 10.30am, just hours before “autocratic ruler Sheikh Hasina fled the country” in face of massive student-people uprising.  

While recalling the moment of getting the heartbreaking news, Sumon’s father, Omar Faruq (54), burst into tears.

He recounted that soon after he offered Maghrib prayers at their village mosque on August 5, someone called him over phone and told him, “Your son Sumon was shot dead by law enforcement agency members this morning as he joined the anti-discrimination student movement.”

Hearing the news, he was stunned and collapsed on the ground while other devotees at the mosque rushed to support him and helped him sit up.

Upon receiving this news, Shaheed Sumon’s mother, Marjina Begum (42), his college-going sister, Israt Jahan Urmi (18), younger brother, Shihab Sarker (14), and his elderly grandmother, Fatema Begum (82), broke down in tears. A wave of grief swept through the entire area, casting a shadow of sorrow over the community.

On that night, Faruq, with the help of his close relative and Chirirbandar Upazila Sramik Kalyan Federation President Abdul Khaleq, managed a microbus and went to Dhaka to receive his son's body.

On August 6, he received Sumon’s body from Ashulia Police Station following the legal procedures and arrived at their Lakshmipur village home with the body in the evening. On the same night, Sumon was laid to eternal rest at their family graveyard after the Isha prayers.

Sumon's colleagues, Rubel and Sohrab, said they- that is eight people including Sumon- had been living together in a rented house in the Baipail area of Ashulia for the last seven months until Sumon’s martyrdom.

All of them worked in garment factories. On August 3, they said, the garment factories were shut down due to the anti-discrimination student movement. Therefore, all of them started joining the movement from that day.

On the morning of August 5, they, including Shaheed Sumon, joined the movement in the Baipail area on the Gazipur-Dhaka Highway.

Rubel and Sohrab recalled while their protest was continuing peacefully, Awami League leaders and activists, along with members of its affiliated bodies, suddenly attacked the protesters with different types of sharp weapons.

At the same time, law enforcement agency members began firing at the demonstrating students and civilians.

Amid the chaos, many protesters were shot and collapsed onto the ground while Sumon’s fellow demonstrators ran in different directions, desperately trying to protect themselves.

However, when they regrouped, they realized Sumon was missing and began searching for him. Finally, at around 10.30am, they found Sumon’s lifeless body lying by the roadside, stained in blood.

Though his fellow protesters tried to take Sumon’s body to hospital, none could step forward to help them as leaders and activists of the Awami League and its affiliated bodies were still continuing their assault. Besides, the number of casualties and deaths was huge.

Later, in the afternoon, a police van came to the scene and took Sumon's body to the Ashulia Upazila Health Complex, where the duty doctor declared him dead.

Sumon's mother, Marzina Begum, recalled that her son returned to Dhaka a month before his death. Before leaving, he told her, “Ma, Baba is sick. He is a diabetic and high blood pressure patient. Baba should return home by evening with the van every day. If he works too hard, he will become even more ill”.

She further said Sumon had a plan to take his father to a specialist doctor after returning from Dhaka next time. “But before taking his father to the doctor for treatment, Sumon himself left this world,” Marzina said as she broke down in tears.

Sumon's elderly grandmother, 80-year-old Fatema Begum, tearfully said, “I am very old, yet why am I still alive? My grandson left everyone behind at such a young age! Did Allah keep me alive just to witness this scene? Why didn’t I die before my grandson Sumon?”

Sumon's younger sister Urmi and younger brother Shihab recalled that their elder brother promised them of bringing new clothes when he would return home.

“We want capital punishment for those who shot and killed our brothers,” they demanded.

Faruq said they are still devastated by the grief of losing Sumon.

“My son Sumon was an ideal son. He always wanted to do something good for everyone. But he was brutally killed. We want justice for this murder,” he said.