After spending nearly eight years abroad, Abdur Rahim returned to his motherland with the dream to raise his children – to educate them and bring them up “properly” – and was about to start his own business. But his dreams will remain unachieved as Rahim will not be there to pursue them.
The 30-year-old yesterday succumbed to his burn injuries he had received in a petrol bomb attack by pickets supporting the BNP-led 20-party alliance’s blockade and hartal. He had been undergoing treatment at the Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute of Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
Besides Rahim, a 12-year-old boy named Zakir Hossain also died yesterday from burn injuries he had received in a similar attack. The boy’s injuries were so severe – with 70% of his body burnt – that he was only able to tell his name when he was brought to the hospital.
Zakir’s body was kept at the medical college morgue after a post mortem examination, but his family members were perhaps yet to learn about the tragedy as there was none at the hospital yesterday to receive the body.
Partha Shankar Pal, residential surgeon at the DMCH burn institute, told the Dhaka Tribune that Rahim, who had suffered 39% burn, succumbed to his injuries around 10:30am. Zakir died around 1:30am.
Rahim was from Sreerampur of Satkhira. He used to live with his family – wife Marzina Khatun, son Sanjid Ahmed Somrat, 14, and daughter Sumaiya Khatun, 8, in his native village. Somrat is a student of class V while Sumaiya reads in class III at a local school.
Rahim lived in Malaysia for nearly eight years and came back to Bangladesh last year.
After repaying the money he had borrowed before going to Malaysia, he returned to start a business of agricultural commodity.
Ramzan Ali, brother of Rahim, said Rahim had gone to Bogra on a business purpose on Thursday and was on his way back home by a truck as usual transport was not available. Saju Khalifa, 30, a friend of Ramzan and a furniture businessman, was with Rahim on the truck.
Pickets threw a petrol bomb on the truck when it reached near Mohasthangarh of Bogra around 8pm, leaving the truck driver and two others injured critically, said Ramzan. They were admitted to DMCH around 4am yesterday.
Saju also suffered 20% burns in the attack while Rahim’s respiratory organs were badly damaged. The injured truck driver named Piton is undergoing treatment at Bogra Medical College Hospital.
Ramzan said: “If small businessmen like us cannot work and have to stay at home, how will our families survive? My sister-in-law has not been talking to anyone since she heard about the accident. I cannot imagine what fate has her and their two children!”
The other victim, Zakir was going to Savar by a passenger bus from Baipail when the bus came under a petrol bomb attack near the Kachirpur bus stand on January 13 around 8pm. Ten passengers of the bus received burn injuries and Zakir’s condition was very critical with 70% burn, said Deepok Kumar Saha, inspector (investigation) of Savar police station.
Zakir was first admitted to Savar Gonosastho Nagar Hospital but as his condition deteriorated he was shifted to the DMCH burn institute around 10pm on Thursday. The boy died around 1am.
At the time of admission, the boy could only say his name and nothing else.
Inspector Deepok said: “We suspect that he was a street child as no one has so far come to the hospital looking for him in the past 10 days when he was undergoing treatment.”
Delowar Hossain, sub-inspector of Shahabagh police station, conducted the inquest report of Zakir while Dr Prodeep Biswas of Dhaka Medical College’s forensic department conducted the autopsy. A DNA sample of the boy has been preserved.
With the death of Rahim and Zakir, a total of 15 people have died so far from burn injuries received in petrol bomb attacks across the country during the past 18 days of the BNP-led alliance’s indefinite blockade.
Three more had died earlier at the burn institute while around 45 people have been receiving treatment there.
In reply to a question, Partha Shankar Pal, residential surgeon of the burn institute, said three of the burn victims were kept at the Intensive Care Unit as their condition was critical.
