On the afternoon of August 5, 2024, as the monsoon clouds gathered over Dhamrai, a teenager named Afiqul Islam Saad stepped out of his home with Tk30 in his pocket and a conviction burning in his heart.
By evening, he lay bleeding near Hardinge High School, shot in the head during a protest that would become one of the defining moments of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement - a movement that reshaped Bangladesh’s political landscape and cost hundreds of young lives.
Saad, a student of Savar Cantonment Public School and College, was just 18 years old.
Born in Manikganj in 2006, he had grown up in a country where dreams often collided with systemic barriers.
On July 16, he posted a banner on Facebook with a map of Bangladesh and the words: “Movement for Freedom.”
A day before his death, he wrote: “The history of a country that began with blood, will require blood to rewrite it.”
It was not a prophecy. It was a promise.
The day the streets bled
On that fateful day, students and locals had gathered on Thana Road in Dhamrai, demanding reforms to the civil service quota system and protesting state violence.
According to eyewitnesses, police emerged from the station and opened fire into the crowd.
Saad was shot in the left side of his forehead, the bullet reportedly exiting through the back of his head.
His friends carried him through chaos and gunfire to Enam Medical College Hospital, but the journey took nearly three hours as ambulances were forced to detour under continued police fire.
Doctors said there was no chance of surgery.
Saad died three days later, on August 8, and was buried in the family graveyard in Dargram, Manikganj.
A mother’s grief, a nation’s reckoning
His mother, Anjuman Ara, still speaks of him in the present tense.
“Saad was very fond of me. He would call me repeatedly when he was outside. Now the phone doesn’t even ring,” she said, tears streaming down her face.
She recalled asking him to take a family photo just days before the shooting.
“It didn’t happen then. It won’t happen now.”
His father, Shafiqul Islam, rushed from Manikganj upon hearing the news.
“They killed my son. They are killing our future,” he said, demanding justice for Saad and other students who died during the movement.
Seeking justice
On August 22, Saad’s grandfather Md Azim Uddin filed a murder case with Dhamrai Police Station, naming 82 individuals and listing another 85–90 unnamed accused, including Upazila Awami League General Secretary Kabir Mollah and other party leaders.
Officer-in-Charge Md Monirul Islam confirmed that 50 accused had been arrested and sent to court.
“The case is under investigation. The report will be submitted soon,” he said.
Saad’s death was one among hundreds during the July Revolution, which culminated in the resignation of prime minister Sheikh Hasina on the same day Saad was shot.
The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, which began as a protest against quota injustice, evolved into a nationwide uprising.
According to health ministry data, at least 631 people were killed and over 19,000 injured between July 15 and August 5, 2024.
A legacy etched in blood
Today, Saad’s name is etched into the memory of a movement that demanded dignity, justice, and reform.
His Facebook posts, now archived by fellow activists, are shared on July Martyrs’ Day, observed on July 16 to honor those who died in the protests.
In the words of former ICT adviser Md Nahid Islam: “Their sacrifices will inspire future struggles for justice. A discrimination-free Bangladesh will emerge in honor of the martyrs”.
