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Got killed but obeyed order

Shariful Islam
Ayesha Begum, the widow of a slain Central Subedar Major of the BDR, finally found some con-solation six months after the Pilkhana carnage in February 2009, when the authorities had recognised her husband as a martyr and assured the family of necessary assistance.
She had dreamt of a decent life in a permanent shelter, like the other martyrs' families received, for living with her children and their education without any financial constraints, but the dreams are now fading away.
Her husband Nurul Islam had laid down his life on February 25 while carrying out command of the then BDR director general, soon after the mutiny broke out. A mutineer stabbed him with an iron rod on the chest when he was trying to bring back mutineers to the DG's darbar (meeting) following instructions. He died immediately.
Central Subedar Major is the highest rank of a noncommissioned officer stationed at the Pilkhana head-
quarters of the paramilitary force.
Even though an army officer had witnessed his death, the authorities recognised him as a martyr six months after the bloody mutiny by evaluating his role, relieving Ayesha from the humiliation of being the widow of a betrayer or killer.
Ayesha said after the recognition, she appealed to the prime minister through Major General Md Mainul Islam, the then BDR chief, for assistance what the families of other martyrs were assured to get.
But she could not know
about the fate of her appeal in the last two and a half years.
"We also met the incumbent DG and his predecessor to know the fate of our appeal, but they only assured us that the PMO will do something," said Ashraful Islam, the only son of Nurul Islam.
All families of the martyred army officers had received Tk 10 lakh each from the Prime Minister's Fund, money for education of their children and two flats each. Families of the civilians killed in the bloodbath also gotTk 10 lakh each from the Prime Minister's
Office. The Bankers' Association of Bangladesh is also giving Tk 40,000 to each family of the victim officers every month.
Ashraf said they got around Tk 11.5 lakh as his father's service benefit, of which Tk 6.5 lakh has already been spent in repayment of loans his father had taken from relatives while marrying out his two daughters and meeting the family expenses.
He also said after his father had been declared a martyr, the then BDR chief called his mother and gave herTk 10 lakh from the BDR Welfare Fund, and a residence for a two year term.
"Depositing the money, we get around Tk 9,000 a month and that is the only source of income to bear the family expenses including education of my younger sister, who is an SSC examinee from Birshreshtha Munshi Abdur Rouf Rifles College,” he said.
Ashraf is studying MBA at a private university and manages his educational expenses from a private bank job he is doing at a monthly salary of Tk 12,000.
Saving money from salaries, Ashraf said, his father had purchased some lands in their village home in Char Laxmi of Ramgati upazila of Laxmipur, but that too has been devoured by river Meghna. "Now we've no land except for a small house in the village home," he said.
"After four more months, we'll have to leave the quarter on the Pilkhana premises. We still don't know where we'll take shelter then," Ashraf said.
"My father laid down his life to save everybody, but now none inquires about us," he said adding "Had my father fled away, at least we would not have lost him."
Nurul Islam's body was dumped with other army officers in a mass grave inside Pilkhana. Later, the body was retrieved on February 27 and was lying in the morgue of Dhaka Medical College.
"Initially, we thought Abba [father] is alive, but as days gone by we thought he might have fallen sick seeing the horror," Ashraf said.
"Finding no trace, we searched each and every hospital in the city and started praying only to get his body," his eyes welled in tears, “and finally seven days after the mutiny, we could locate his body at the morgue."
His father was buried at their village home on March 3, 2009. Finally, after the recognition, a BDR team led by Comilla sector commander Col Mirza Ejajur Rahman on August 20 had given a guard of honour at his grave following the government's directive.
Meanwhile, family members of two other civilians — Hridoy Hossain Rakib, 13, and rickshaw puller Amzad Ali, 45, who had been killed during the mutiny -- said they received Tk 10 lakh each from the prime minister.
But, they were yet to receive land and job for a member from each of the families as pledged, Hridoy's father Raja Mia, a vegetable vendor, and Amzad's son Moslem recently told The Daily Star.