It was July 19, sometime between 5:30pm and 6pm. Protesters were near the New Market Petrol Pump. A chase and counter-chase unfolded between the protesters of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement and members of law enforcement.
"After hearing several gunshots, I looked behind and saw a boy sitting as if he were praying namaz. By that time, the police had passed us. My two friends and I approached the boy. I held him tightly. He looked up at me and said, 'Bhai (brother), please take me to a hospital.' Then he collapsed in our arms," Alamgir, who was part of the protest that day under the banner of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, told BSS.
Alamgir continued: "We hailed a rickshaw and placed him on it. He was still alive at that point. I used his finger to unlock his phone and found out his name from the college identity card around his neck. I called a number from his recent contacts and informed them that Shovon had been shot by the police and we were taking him to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital. I also asked them to inform his family."
"On the way, I felt him take a deep breath. That may have been his last," Alamgir said, adding that when they arrived at the hospital, the emergency department was overwhelmed with the injured and the dead.
"A doctor checked his pulse and told us he had already passed away." This is how Alamgir described the final moments of Saidul Islam Shovon.
Shovon had completed his HSC from Sheikh Borhan Uddin College the previous year. He had been preparing to study in Japan, and his paperwork was almost ready. But Shovon would never make it.
Shahnaz Begum, Shovon’s mother, recounted: "That day was Friday. My Shovon was eating biryani after Jummah prayers. His friends kept calling him. After finishing his meal, he left in a hurry."
"I didn’t know that was my son’s last meal," Shahnaz said tearfully.
"In the evening, a boy from the neighborhood came and told me that Shovon had been shot by the police and was being taken to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital."
Shovon’s father was in India at the time.
"I rushed to the hospital," Shahnaz continued. "I saw my son's lifeless body lying on a trolley in the corner of the emergency department. My Shovon was no more," she cried in anguish.
"We were terrified because my son died participating in the movement. We were afraid of what would happen if the police found out and came after us. So, we hurriedly took his body from the hospital without an autopsy."
A few years ago, on February 21, Shovon was in Class XII. He had made a poster and posted it on Facebook. The poster featured pictures of the five language martyrs—Salam, Barkat, Rafiq, Shafiq, Jabbar—along with Shovon himself, and a Shaheed Minar, the monument built to honour those who sacrificed their lives for the Bengali language.
Over time, all the characters in that poster have met the same fate, becoming martyrs for their causes.
Shovon’s mother further said: "We never realized how much my son loved his country. Who could have imagined that one day my Shovon would become a martyr like the language veterans?"
"After Shovon’s death, we scrolled through his Facebook account and found that poster. Did God predestine him for martyrdom, or did Shovon wish to be a martyr?" Shahnaz lamented.
Nazrul Islam, Shovon’s father, added: "I was so proud of my son. He was such a well-behaved child. But with Shovon’s death, everything has been shattered. Our beautiful family has been destroyed. I don’t know how we’ll go on living. The pain is unbearable."
"We don’t want anything from the government. We want Shovon’s dreams to be fulfilled. May his aspirations for the country come true. May the nation never forget the sacrifice of Shovon."
Delwar Hossain, the acting principal of Borhanuddin College, said, "Shovon was a very brave boy. He is our national hero. The new era of the country has been ushered in through the sacrifices of young people like Shovon. We will never forget the contributions of these national heroes."
In memory of Shovon, Chankhar intersection has been renamed "Shovon Chattar."
He has become a role model for us all, Hossain added.
