The air feels heavy with tears from kith and kin of innocents suffering from burn injuries at the Burn and Plastic Surgery unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
The arson attacks by pickets during the ongoing shutdown made the innocent victims pay a heavy price.
A faint crying sound was heard in front of the observation ward of High Dependency Unit and Intensive Care Unit while some were shedding tears silently at the entrance of Burn and Plastic Surgery unit.
The innocents bore the brunt of their honest mistakes. Their easy-going nature to just go out on daily business in pursuit of earning livelihood and come back home with princely amount of money backfired.
So is Nasima Akter, 26, a garment worker, now undergoing treatment at ICU of the burn unit.
The woman received 46% burns all over her body on October 27, the first day of 60-hour-long hartal, when she was going back home after work in Mohammadpur area.
Talking with the Dhaka Tribune, she said the pickets set fire to the passenger bus she boarded.
“Before I got down from the bus near Bheribadh, almost half of my body parts burned,” she said.
A CNG driver Asadul Gazi, 32, who risked driving his vehicle during the November-3 shutdown only to feed his family met the same fate as other burn victims.
“When I reached Abdur Rab gate with passengers, picketers set fire to my CNG-run auto-rickshaw and 35% of my body were scalded,” he said, adding that a passenger was burned to death.
The deceased was Mostafizur Rahman Mukul, 36, a purchase officer of Biswash Group.
The third patient at the ICU was Mantu Pal, 36, who had 90% burns all over his body.
He said he was going back home from Laxmibazar to Tantibazar when he fell victim to the attack.
Besides, a minor boy Monir Hossain, 12, was killed after he was attacked by pickets in Gazipur at the second spell of 60-hour hartal enforced by the opposition.
The minor returning to his mother after visiting capital with his father.
A day labourer Rokunazzaman, 31, had been suffering at the burn unit with his 11% burns he received from pickets’ action in Joydebpur area on November 3.
In addition, six patients were also admitted to DMCH burn unit. Of them, Abdu Razzak Mithu, 20, was an insurance worker who came under attack by the hartal supporters in Shahbagh area.
Harun-or-Rashid, 20, a Leguna driver, was also attacked by pickets near 1 No. gate of BGB headquarters.
The victim received 20% burns. Harun came with his vehicle to earn his daily livelihood since he had no other options to make money without driving the four wheeler.
Rahima Khatun with her grandchild Soma Akter, 9, was coming from Netrokona to visit her daughter’s house at Uttara.
Their bus came under attack on November 3 at Gazipur by the hartal supporters.
Both Rahima and Soma were admitted to the hospital with 13% and 15% burn injuries.
The observation ward of the unit bears the testimony of merciless attack by the pickets mostly victimising common people.
A minor boy Roni, 14, received 16% burns after pickets set fire to a bus he was sleeping in in Shah Ali area of Mirpur Sunday morning.
He worked as a helper of the bus to support his family.
Milon, 24, received 15% burn injury after an arson attack on his vehicle called “Leguna” by pickets in Dhanmondi area.
Kamal Hossain, 25, a tailor, is undergoing treatment with 25% burn injury.
The victim was returning home from Mohammadpur area after work.
Kamal told the Dhaka Tribune he was the only earning member of his three-member family.
Sumon, 18, helper of a pickup van, received 10% burn injury Monday noon in the capital’s Hazaribagh area.
Sagor, 20, son of Asaduzzaman, was going to Gazipur to work for a firm and came under arson attack when the bus he boarded was set on fire by pickets.
The victim was admitted to hospital with 11% burn injury.
Dr Samanta Lal Shen, coordinator of DMCH Burn and Plastic Surgery unit, told the Dhaka Tribune of the injuries, burs from petrol and gunpowder attacks were serious ones.
“Our attending doctors are giving all possible best treatment to patients so that they can go back home after coming round soon,” he said.