DMCH morgue never been thicker with grief
SHAHEEN MOLLAH, DIPAN NANDY and MD ABBAS
The air at Dhaka Medical College Hospital morgue was never this thick with grief before yesterday.
Kamrul Islam could not look more shattered -- his younger son Nayeem Hawlader had just died from bullet wounds. Next to him was one Suraiya Akhter, who was weeping inconsolably over the death of her father from bullet wounds too.
Near them were distraught friends and relatives of Tahir Zaman Priyo, who arrived at the morgue of Dhaka Medical College Hospital on hearing news of his death.
When the correspondents visited the DMCH morgue at 4:30pm, the place was overcrowded with shell-shocked relatives of the deceased. For the next hour, the correspondents saw at least 12 dead bodies entering the morgue.
One of the dead bodies was of Kamrul’s son Nayeem, a second year HSC student of Raoshan Ara Degree College in Jatrabari. On Friday, he joined the student protests with his friends and sustained bullet wounds that took his life.
Although his father Kamrul is beside himself with grief, his elder brother Noman is proud as his brother died a hero.
“I am feeling extremely proud as my brother did not lose his life in any political party’s programme. He was active in the movement going on against the discriminatory quota system -- he sacrificed his life for a just movement,” Noman said.
Suraiya Akhter’s father happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, just like Arif from Bhola’s Lalmohon area.
“We live just opposite the BNP party office. When the clash took place with police and BNP men, my father went there to witness the situation. Suddenly, bullets hit my father in the back,” she said.
Her father, a rickshaw puller, died on his way to hospital.
Like Suraiya’s father, Arif was an innocent bystander.
Just a month ago, Arif started working at a hotel in Jatrabari, a site of fierce clashes between the police and the protesters.
“My brother was not involved in any politics or clashes. He suffered a bullet wound in his head on Friday in Kajla-Boubazar area. His body bore no other injury mark,” Rashed said.
Relatives and friends of freelance photojournalist Tahir Zaman Priyo, were seen sitting in front of the morgue as autopsy was performed on his body.
Priyo was killed during a clash between police and protesters on Friday in Science Lab area while on duty.
He was hit by a bullet in the head and was pronounced dead at 10:00pm on Friday when he was brought to DMCH, according to his grandfather Shafiul Alam.
Like Priyo, Tourist Police’s Assistant Sub-Inspector Muktadir was killed while on duty.
“My brother was walking towards his Banasree office from Rayerbagh house. At that time, some miscreants swooped on him, beat him up indiscriminately and smashed his face,” his brother Kuddus Ali said.
Muktadir was taken to the DMCH where the doctor declared him dead.