STAFF CORRESPONDENT

Family members of those martyred during the July-August mass uprising have accused the interim government of neglecting their plight and failing to deliver justice.

At a press conference held in front of Jatiya Press Club yesterday, they alleged that the government has made no significant progress in arresting or prosecuting those responsible for the killings, nor has it officially recognised the martyrs.

Many families are living in dire conditions, they claimed, as no steps have been taken to rehabilitate them.

The families announced they would begin a sit-in and hunger strike on February 4 if their demands are not met by tomorrow. At least 20 relatives of the martyrs, including mothers, fathers, siblings, spouses, and children, spoke at the event titled “Ensuring Immediate Arrest and Trial of All Perpetrators, and Securing the Just Demands of the Martyrs’ Families.”

Bithi Akter, widow of Hafizur Rahman, who was shot in Agargaon on August 5 and died on August 16, said, “If you cannot fulfil our demands, then kill us too. We have no reason to live anymore.”

“My child asks for food and clothes, but I cannot provide. My landlord doesn’t excuse the rent for a single month. If the government refuses our demands, then kill us, kill our children too -- we’ll all become martyrs, and no one will remain to protest on the streets,” she said.

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