The family of Faruk Patwari – who was killed during clashes between blockade supporters and Border Guard Bangladesh members in Chandpur on Wednesday – now faces a life of uncertainty, as they do not know who would take care of them after the death of the family’s sole earner.
“My father left the house yesterday morning to work at the crop field, but police [BGB] killed him,” 10-year-old Sajib Patwari, the eldest son of Faruk, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.
Faruk’s seven-year-old son Zahid Hasan and six-month-old daughter Jannat Akhter were too young to comprehend the loss and seemed puzzled to see so many people at their house.
The mother of the deceased was lamenting, saying who would bring medicines for her, while Faruk’s wife Sufiya Begum was fainting frequently.
The sudden death of Faruk had also left the neighbours without proper words to console the bereaved family.
Faruk supported his five-member family by selling fruits from his mobile-store at the local Debpur Bazar and by working at other people’s crop fields when political turmoil did not allow him to sell fruits.
On Wednesday, Faruk was among the 20 people who were injured when BGB forces opened fire on pro-blockade activists after they hurled brick chips and vandalised the frontier guards’ vehicles on the Chandpur-Comilla Highway near Mahamaya Palli Bidyut area.
Faruk was later brought to Chandpur Sadar Hospital, where the on-duty doctor declared him dead.
Following the incident, the 18-party alliance staged an eight-hour strike from 6am to 2pm yesterday, protesting the killing of Faruk, who was also an activist of Juba Dal.
Shwapan Mahmud, chairman at Shahmahmudpur union under Chandpur sadar upazilla, called for proper punishment to be served for the killing.
Mahbub Morshed, officer-in-charge of Chandpur model police station, said police had filed a case against at least 200-300 people, including 15 named activists of the opposition alliance, in this connection.
Following a post-mortem, the deceased was buried at his family graveyard yesterday afternoon.
