One more burn victim, who was injured in a petrol bomb attack in the capital’s Banasree area on February 12, died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) yesterday.
The victim, a bus helper named Md Bappi, 28, had received around 70% burn injuries when pickets threw petrol bomb at his bus – a passenger bus of Alif Paribahan – which hit him directly. He was undergoing treatment at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery at the DMCH when he succumbed to his injuries, around 11am, said Dr Partha Shankar Paul, resident surgeon at the burn institute.
With Bappi’s death, the death toll due to the petrol bomb attacks in the ongoing blockade and hartal, enforced by the BNP-led 20-party alliance, now stands at 42, with the total number of death at 76.
Dr Partha said there are 42 such victims currently being treated at the burn institute; among them five are at the ICU and eight are at the Hyper Dependency Unit (HDU).
“The victims in the ICU and the HDU are being considered as critical cases,” he added.
Dr Partha further said a total of 145 burn victims injured in crude firebomb attacks has been brought in to the DMCH since the indefinite blockade began on January 6.
Of them, a total of 12 victims have succumbed to death, including Bappi, according to the hospital register.
A family out of depth
Losing her son, Bappi’s mother Halima Begum does not know how his family is going to be provided for.
“My son used to get out of the house by 5am and would not return until 11pm, every day, to earn for his family,” the heart-broken mother told the Dhaka Tribune.
Hailing from Haboi village in Mohanganj upazila, Netrokona, Bappi was the main bread earner in his family. His family – his wife Rina Akhtar, two daughters Pinki, 5, and Mim, 1, and his mother – live in Mirpur 1 area in Dhaka. His father Dulal Miah, who is mentally challenged, resided in their village home. Halima used to try to help her son with the household expenses by vending vegetables on the streets.
“Bappi worked hard to provide for his family. Those pickets did not only take his life, but put all of us in a difficult situation too,” Halima told the Dhaka Tribune. “Our monthly house rent alone is Tk3,500. How are we supposed to pay it? We do not have any alternative source of income.”
Alal Miah, Bappi’s uncle said: “I don’t know what is in the fate of Bappi’s little girls now. He worked really hard to take care of his family. Now with him gone, they have lost everything.
“Such loss of life is not acceptable. No family should have to suffer like this due to this political unrest.”
