One dreadful moment is all it took to fling 15 years of love and hope in the balance.
One moment, a boy is struggling for the fruits of life’s labours, a flash of light and an ear-splitting explosion later, he is struggling for very survival.
Less than a month before he was to sit his SSC exams, fifteen-year-old Anik was maimed, possibly for life, by the treacherous work of a bomb maker.
“Splinters have shattered parts of Anik’s skull and his face is partially burnt,” said Anik’s physician Rashed Mahmud at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
On Monday, Minhazul Islam Anik became the latest victim of a crude bomb attack, hurled by pickets in Feni, after the BNP-called the blockade came into effect.
At 4:30pm, while Anik was returning home from his teacher’s house in the Mastarpara area in Feni town, the bombs went off. He was with his friend Hridoy.
Quoting Hridoy, Anik’s mother Jesmin said: “Pickets exploded crude bombs in the area. Two of them blasted right in front of Anik. Hridoy took him to a nearby clinic with the help of locals. Anik was later transferred to the DMCH.”
Anik, an SSC candidate of Feni Government Pilot High School is currently undergoing treatment at Ward 103 of the Neurosurgery Department of the DMCH.
Hailing from Dagonbhuya, he lives with his mother and sister in the Hazzakari area of Feni town. His father lives and works in Oman.
On hearing the news, Anik’s father, Mizan, is flying back from Oman.
Anik’s mother, unable to stem the tears says: “Anik is our only son. What did he do wrong? He was apolitical, an innocent. We have so many dreams for him. If anything happens to him, the Almighty will never forgive those who did this.”
Teachers and students of Feni Government Pilot School held a human chain in front of the school yesterday demanding punishment for those responsible for Anik’s condition.
“We have asked our plastic surgery unit to observe Anik’s injuries and conduct an operation soon,” said Dr Rashed, assistant registrar of DMCH Neurosurgery Department.
“His condition is almost stable now and we hope we can cure him fully,” he said.
The stricken boy’s condition has put Ward 3 of DMCH under a pall of gloom.
Anik’s relatives, praying for his recovery, utter no words except to demand punishment for the pickets, blockaders or whoever is responsible for the bombing.
Outraged, Anik’s uncle Abdullah Al-Mamun said: “Those culprits are viler than beasts. They not only hurt Anik but also took his cell phone after injuring him.”
The boy’s school principal, Hosne Ara Begum, told the Dhaka Tribune that Anik is a meritorious student of the school.
“We are very hopeful about him. We hope that he will be able to sit for the exams and we are praying to the Almighty for his recovery,” she said.
Meanwhile, an Ansar member and a pick-up van driver sustained injuries in crude bomb attacks in the capital yesterday and have been admitted to the Burn and Plastic Surgery unit of the DMCH.
Around 5:10am yesterday, Ansar member Anwar Hossain, 45, a resident of Kadamtali police station barrack, came under attack in the capital’s Jurain area. The attack burned 3% of his face and hands.
Around 7pm, a pick-up van driver Md Amjad, 35, came under attack as he was leaving the Beribadh area after refilling his pick-up at a fuel station.
As he reached the Lalbagh police outpost, pickets hurled four petrol bombs at his van and set it on fire.
Amjad said he was lucky that he could quickly get out of the van.
The fire burned 3% of his left arm.
In 2013, during countrywide political unrest, at least 30 people were killed by crude bombs hurled by pickets and over 200 sustained splinter injuries.
