A young man was thrown from a police APC onto the highway. As he fell to the road, his arms spread out and his legs folded.
One leg became trapped under the APC's wheel. Despite this, the young man was still alive and visibly breathing.
A police officer exited the vehicle and roughly dragged him to the middle of the road. He was then tossed across the road divider and left in the service lane, treated like an inanimate object.
A video of this brutal act by the police spread on social media. The unfortunate young man was identified as Shaikh Ashhabul Yamin.
On July 18, during protests demanding quota reforms in government jobs, clashes broke out between police and protesters in Savar. It was during these clashes that this incident occurred. The video of the event later captured widespread attention and shocked everyone with its cruelty.
Shaikh Ashhabul Yamin was a fourth-year student in the Computer Science and Engineering department at the Military Institute of Science and Technology (MIST) in Dhaka. He resided in Osman Hall at MIST, while his family lived in the Bank Town residential area of Savar.
Yamin’s father, Md Mohiuddin, said that Yamin had come home from the MIST dormitory on the morning of July 17. On July 18, Yamin attended the Jummah prayers with his father. After that, he was not seen again.
Attempts to reach him by phone were unsuccessful. Around 3pm, someone called and advised Yamin's mother to go to Enam Medical College Hospital in Savar, where the family later found Yamin's body.
The day
From the morning until 11am on July 18, the area remained calm. Around 11am, students from various educational institutions in Savar gathered at the Pakiza intersection on the Dhaka-Aricha Highway to protest.
A large number of police and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel were also stationed there. At one point, the protesters began shouting slogans at the police.
The police then started firing tear gas shells to disperse the protesters, leading to clashes between the two sides. During this time, several police vehicles were vandalized.
Faced with tear gas and rubber bullets from the police, the protesters dispersed.
Simultaneously, several hundred leaders and activists of the Awami League and its affiliated organizations, armed with helmets, iron rods, bamboo sticks, pistols, and shotguns, were present in the area. Notable figures included Atiqur Rahman Atik, president of Savar Upazila Chhatra League, and Rubel, a relative of Upazila Chairman Manjurul Alam Rajib. Many of them carried firearms.
Under assault from the police and Awami League activists, the protesters scattered. The area was then controlled by the police and Awami League activists, while the scattered protesters regrouped around the Savar bus stand and its surrounding alleys.
By 12 noon, the protesters had resumed their demonstration on the highway in front of the Savar Model Mosque. On one side were the police, BGB, and armed Awami League activists; on the other were the protesting students and the public.
Once again, police tear gas and gunfire forced the protesters to retreat to various alleys in the Savar Bank Colony area. For hours, clashes and chases continued.
Subsequently, protesters occupied the old overbridge, City Center, Rajjak Plaza, and the service lanes and alleys on the opposite side of the highway from the Savar bus stand.
They set up iron barricades and started fires to block the highway. Meanwhile, they vandalized and set fire to several police boxes in the area.
The area turned into a battlefield.
The protesters threw bricks and stones, while the police fired bullets and tear gas shells.
At one point, the protesters continued their resistance at Rajjak Plaza and nearby points on the service lane heading towards Manikganj, as well as on the opposite side of the highway.
The navy blue APC on the highway
Around 2pm, a navy blue police APC was seen on the highway. It took position on the main lane of the road and started firing rubber bullets, buckshot, and tear gas shells at the protesters.
Around 2:30pm, as the APC neared the old overbridge near the Savar bus stand, Shaikh Ashhabul Yamin climbed onto the APC after crossing the road divider.
At that moment, he was shot in the left side of his chest and fell onto the APC. The APC's top cover was then closed.
13 policemen beaten to death in attack on police station in SirajganjSources say that inside the APC were several police officers, including a senior official.
The scene of brutality
After Yamin fell onto the APC, it moved to an area between Savar’s Rana Plaza and the VAT Office. A police officer inside the APC opened the left door, and another officer opened the top cover and dragged Yamin out, throwing him onto the road.
Even at this point, Yamin was still alive and breathing. He was wearing navy blue trousers and a brownish shirt.
When Yamin was thrown from the APC, his arms splayed out, and one of his legs became trapped under the APC’s wheel.
A police officer then got out of the APC, grabbed Yamin by the arm, and dragged him to the middle of the highway. Two more police officers got out and dragged him from the main road to the road divider, then threw him over the divider onto the service lane.
During this time, police officers on the service lane continued to fire incessantly. Even as Yamin was thrown onto the service lane, the officers continued to shout: “Shoot, shoot, fire with pistols.”
The body left on the highway
The police left Yamin’s body in the service lane and moved away. A tear gas shell landed next to him. After this, everyone left the scene.
Residents rescued him about an hour later and took him to Enam Medical College Hospital in Savar. The attending doctors declared him dead.
Doctors reported numerous buckshot wounds to Yamin’s chest and side.
Dr Mizarul Rehan Pavel and Dr. Hasan Mahbub at Enam Medical College Hospital confirmed on July 18 that Yamin died from severe bleeding caused by numerous rubber bullets.
At least 31 killed in clashes with police in SavarYamin’s father, Md Mohiuddin, said: “After hearing the news, we went to the hospital, where a doctor took us to a locked room. When the door was opened, Yamin was found on a stretcher. The doctor informed us that Yamin had died before arriving at the hospital. We then quickly brought the body home by ambulance and buried him in the residential colony cemetery in Savar.”
He added: “No one can throw a living person down like that. I do not seek justice from anyone. I have not filed a GD or had an autopsy done on my son’s body. I have left the matter to Allah. Please pray that we have the patience to endure.”
Yamin was the first student to be killed in the Savar protests for quota reform. Twelve hours before his death, Yamin posted on Facebook: “Not just quotas; the entire country needs reform.”
