City Desk :
Sexagenarian MA Razzaque, a resident of the city’s Mirpur area, has become bewildered after losing his only son in the anti-discrimination student movement recently that ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina ending 15 years of her authoritarian rule.
Md Asif Iqbal, 29, who embraced martyrdom on July 19 in a gunshot in the city’s Mirpur 10 intersection area during the students’ movement, was the eldest and only son of Razzaque among his two children, reports BSS.
As Razzaque retired from his job three years back, after serving in a garment factory as general manager (GM), Asif joined a business farm to help his three-member family after completing Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree from Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) in 2017.
“My son was our only resort . . . we now see darkness ahead about our future after losing the only earning person of the family,” Razzaque told BSS in an interview at his Pallabi residence in the city’s Mirpur area on Saturday.
They are now a two-member family including his (Razzaque’s) wife as their only daughter has been married off a few years back.
Asif’s father said his son was a kind-hearted person who loved to help others in any circumstances at any cost. He was also a sports lover.
“He (Asif) used to donate blood and encourage others to do so,” Razzaque said.
“My son had a dream to emerge as a business icon with an aim of serving the nation by utilizing his wealth. But, a bullet has ruined all his dreams,” he said in a heavy voice and broke down in tears.
On the day Asif received martyrdom, his maternal cousin Md Rashidul Hasan was accompanying him in the movement. They were very much close to each other and used to spend leisure time together.
Describing the incident, Rashidul said on July 19 (Friday) they offered jum’ah prayers together at Baitul Darar Masjid in Sheikhpara area and talked about the overall situation for half an hour at the Eidgah field in front of the Masjid.
Then they went out and was on their way to Mirpur-10 intersection, he said, adding, but on the way, Asif wanted to drink water as he was feeling thirsty.
“So, we went to Swapna Super shop near the Adarsha School to buy some biscuits and drank sugarcane juice from a vendor standing in front of the school,” Rasidul said.
He added: “When we were going towards Mirpur-10 intersection after drinking sugarcane juice, we saw chase and counter chase going on between protesters and Awami League (AL), Jubo League and Chhatra League men. The presence of police personnel was almost absent at that time”.
As it was a weekend holiday, Rashidul said, there was huge presence of general people compared to students.
Noting that Asif had an extraordinary leadership quality to manage and lead people, Asif took the lead in the demonstration at one point and “we made a strong resistance and forced the leaders and activists of AL and its associated bodies to go back towards Mirpur 10 Metro Station”.
Getting public chase, AL men and law enforcement agency members took position in front of Popular Diagnostic Centre on the side of Mirpur-6. Later, from that point police started firing rubber bullets while AL men hurled brickbats at the protesters.
“We were trying to retaliate back by throwing them brickbats. But at 3.30pm we heard sound of bullets from behind. We saw AL men with a motorcade of 20-22 motorcycles coming from Kazipara end firing live bullets and then they went to Mirpur-13,” Asif’s cousin said.
Referring to an eye witness, he said councilor of Shewrapara area Humayun Rashid Jony led the motorcade while at least three persons received bullet injuries in the incident.
At this stage, Rashidul said they decided to go back home to have lunch, but after sending Rashid, Asif stayed on the spot.
At that time, Arif, a senior alma mater of Asif’s school, was accompanying him.
Arif said they were demonstrating at the opposite side of the Shah Ali Market in the Mirpur-10 intersection.
As law enforcement agency members along with ruling party men started indiscriminate firing, Arif said at one stage they hid themselves in a lane. But Asif was trying to hide himself beside a footpath shop as he could not move to a safe place, Arif added.
“Soon after, we heard a sound of bullet shot around 6.10pm and found Asif with bullet injury,” he said, adding that they took Asif to the nearby Al Helal Hospital, but the hospital authority referred him to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital.
Asif’s cousin Rashidul, who is working as interpreter team leader and training coordinator at Anti-Terrorism Assistance (ATA) Project under the US Embassy in Dhaka, said he got a phone call at 6.10pm and came to know that Asif was taken to the operation theatre at Suhrawardy Medical with bullet injury.
“But before I reached the hospital, I received another call by which I was confirmed that my brother was no more,” he said in an emotion-choked voice.
Rashidul said Asif died of excessive bleeding as his major artery in the right side of the heart was torn apart after getting hit by a 7.62mm bullet.
Referring to an ammunition expert’s explanation about the bullet Asif received, he said it was an act of skilled sniper and the bullet was fired from at least 300-400 meter away with a specific target.
About Asif’s leadership quality, Rashidul said he (Asif) also played a great role in 2018 student movement demanding safe road and showed a picture where Asif was leading a procession with a hand mike and hundreds of students were marching behind him.
Asif was buried at his family graveyard in Sreepur Upazila of Magura district on July 20.
While visiting the Pallabi residential area on Saturday, it was observed that locals named a lane after Asif’s name- ‘Shaheed Asif Chattar’, and his role in the movement was described in graffiti on different walls.
About the trial of Asif’s killing, his father Razzaque said he filed a case with the Investigation Agency of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) accusing about 500 people along with 73 named, including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
“We could not get my son back. Now we only want justice. We want to see the genuine perpetrators walking to the gallows,” he said.