Manjoy Mallick. -Photo: Collected

 SAVAR, April 26, 2024 (BSS) – Eighteen-year-old Manjoy Mallick, an office assistant at Savar Press Club, lost his right arm in gunfire during the anti-discrimination student movement, 2024. 

Recalling the harrowing incident, he said, “That day, I saw death so close. I still can’t forget it. Sometimes I still shudder just thinking about it.”

Manjoy lives with his mother in the Thana Road area here. His father, Montu Mallick, passed away some days ago. His mother works as a cleaner at Savar Government College.

 With financial hardship pressing down on the family, Manjoy joined as the office assistant at the press club about one year ago to help support his family.

“Like any other day, I was doing my usual cleaning work at the press club on August 5, 2024. Around 11.30am, hearing shouts outside, I stepped out of the club and saw a large crowd marching toward the police station with a procession,” he recalled.

“At that moment, I quickly locked the club and stepped out,” Manjoy said.

As the procession was approaching, he said he was running in the opposite direction, toward the police station.

“Around 2pm, when I passed Savar Adhar Chandra Government High School, I saw police marching forward with firing bullets at the protesters. Seeing the police, I hid in a vacant spot nearby.

 When a policeman pointed his gun at me, I shouted that I worked at the press club and begged him not to shoot me,” Manjoy recounted.

At that time, he said, another policeman came up and shot him in the right arm from very close range.

“I was also shot with spray bullets in the stomach. At that time, I had no feeling in my hand. I kept seeing darkness in my eyes,” Manjoy recalled.

Grabbing the injured hand with the other, he said, he ran toward Savar Government Hospital. “Due to excess bleeding, I lost consciousness for a while,” he recounted, saying that the doctors of the hospital bandaged his wound and stopped the bleeding.

Later that afternoon, two men rushed him to Enam Medical College Hospital while his mother and others came to Enam medical.

“At that time, I was conscious but unable to speak. I overheard doctors telling my mother that my arm couldn’t be saved and would need to be amputated. Soon after, I lost my consciousness,” Manjoy said.

“In the next morning, I woke up and realized that my arm was amputated,” he broke into tears.

Growing up amid poverty, Manjoy said, “After cutting off my one hand, I have gone from being the provider to a burden. I don’t know how I’ll live the rest of my life.”
So far, he received financial assistance from different persons, he said, it was not enough for his survival.

Manjoy sought help for managing a piece of land to live on and a permanent livelihood.
Manjoy’s mother, Jotsna Mallik, said her only son had emerged as a ray of hope for survival after her husband’s death.

“He’s my only son. After my husband’s death, all my dreams were centered around him. But a bullet ruined all my dreams. He has been crippled for the rest of his life. How will my son spend the rest of his life?” she expressed her anxiety.

Jotsna demanded exemplary punishment for those who shot her son.

She urged the people concerned to extend support to secure a safe future for her son.

Savar Press Club President Nazmus Sakib and Senior Vice-President Arifur Rahman said they monitored Manjoy’s treatment.

Expressing their sorrow over the incident, they said the Savar Press Club has taken full responsibility for Manjoy’s medical expenses and arranged some emergency donations.

The club leaders also assured that they will always remain beside Manjoy.

They are also working to provide him with a prosthetic arm, which will be fitted soon.
Manju urged the government as well as affluent section of the people to extend their helping hands for ensuring his dignified life,