Mohammad Yusuf and Ali Hossain were both shot in the right side of the chest on July 20. They did not know each other, but both were employees of stores in different areas. Even on that day, they had no idea why the agitation was happening. The shop owners kept the stores open, so they had to go to work.
Mohammad Yusuf, a 24-year-old employee of Banglabazar bookstore, went to work on the morning of July 20 as part of his everyday routine. His 17-year-old nephew, Khokon, also worked in the same area. When Khokon's hand was cut while working in a factory and was bleeding profusely, Yusuf took him to BIRDEM General Hospital in a rickshaw.
While sitting in the rickshaw on the way to Shahbagh, Yusuf suddenly shouted and got off. His entire body was covered in blood. He had been shot in the chest.
Local people immediately took him to Dhaka Medical Hospital in the same rickshaw. The hospital authorities said Yusuf died on the way. The incident occurred around 12 noon.
Yusuf's nephew expressed the family's grief, saying: "Why did my uncle die? We had no relationship with the movement. We are laborers, poor people, earning Tk10,000-12,000 a month. Why should we be shot and die? We never say anything against the government."
Yusuf lived with his family in the Babubazar area, with his parents, siblings, and extended family. Three members, including him, were earning for the family. Yusuf's mother questioned why her son's death was so unusual.
His aunt said: "We are not in a normal state to say anything. There was only blood on my son's body."
Around 5:30pm in the New Market area, a shop employee named Ali Hossain was also shot in the chest. During Maghrib prayers, Ali Hossain's brother Ali Akbar received a call saying that his brother had been shot in the chest and was in Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
This incident happened near New Market Gate No. 1 when Ali Hossain was heading home after closing the shop. Ali Hossain, 35, went to work in New Market from his home in Kamrangirchar on the same day. He had been working in a toy shop in the market for the last 10 years. Although the movement had been going on for two days and he had seen the clashes on the streets, the market shops remained open, so he had to go to work.
Ali Akbar, who lived in the same building as his brother, said they had spoken in the morning when Ali Hossain left for work. He recalled the day, saying, "Around noon, as the conflict intensified in the area, we couldn’t open the shop. I called my brother and asked if he would go home with me. He said his shop was not closed yet."
"We were getting off the phone in the afternoon. Even after knowing my brother was in Dhaka Medical, we didn’t think he might die. It felt like a nightmare. He was alive then; I saw his heartbeat was still there."
Doctors tried to save him, but at around 10 pm, Akbar was informed that his brother had died. The family struggled to get a clearance from the police station, not knowing whether to approach New Market or Lalbagh police station. Eventually, they received clearance from Lalbagh police station and buried Ali Hossain in Shariatpur.
Ali Hossain's wife is 30 years old. Among their two sons, the elder son (12) is disabled, and the younger son is only four years old. Ali Hossain had worked in different shops in Dhaka for many years and was the sole breadwinner of his family. Now, there is no one to look after his wife and children. The elder son, who has various complications along with his disability, needs regular treatment.
Ali Akbar expressed his distress over his brother's family situation, saying, "This family can no longer stay in Dhaka; they have to go to their village home. My brother and I were like day laborers. We have no savings."
The postmortem recorded the cause of death as a gunshot. It was police firing, they were told.
Ali Akbar questioned: "If my brother was not a terrorist, why was his chest scarred by the bullet of the police?"