Siddiqur flown to Chennai
Titumir college student Siddiqur Rahman, whose eyes were damaged in “police action” during a demonstration at Shahbagh on July 20, was taken to India for better treatment yesterday.
The flight carrying him left Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 1:00pm, Nayeb Ali, Siddiqur's elder brother, told The Daily Star.
Nayeb and Zahidul Ahsan Menon, an assistant professor at the National Institute of Ophthalmology (NIO), accompanied him to Sankara Nethralaya Hospital in Chennai, where his treatment will begin today after some medical tests.
Siddiqur, 23, has an appointment with doctors at 8:55am, said Nayeb, adding that he is hopeful that his brother would see again.
The government is bearing the cost of Siddiqur's treatment.
Thanking Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for the support, Siddiqur said, “I just want to get back my eyes.”
“I wish to work for people. They have shown their love for me. I will dedicate my life for them till the last day,” Siddiqur told reporters yesterday when he left the NIO around 10:00am.
“The media took up the issue and the government and the people came forward,” he added.
Siddiqur's eyes were damaged after a policeman, as seen in a video clip available on social media, shot a teargas canister directly at the agitating college students. Siddiqur collapsed on the street instantly.
Currently, he cannot see with his right eye. The left eye responded to light once or twice when doctors removed the bandage on Sunday.
“We are not optimistic about the right eye, which was damaged badly. But about the left eye, there is still a chance. However, the condition will be known after a surgery there,” Zahidul told the reporters yesterday.
The physicians had earlier said Siddiqur suffered a “blunt” injury in his eyes caused by some thick and heavy objects.
From a poor family in Tarakanda in Mymensingh, Siddiqur is a third-year political science student at Titumir College.
The students of seven colleges -- Dhaka College, Eden Mohila College, Government Shaheed Suhrawardy College, Kabi Nazrul Government College, Begum Badrunnesa Government Mohila College, Mirpur Government Bangla College and Government Titumir College -- staged demonstrations at Shahbagh for their seven-point demand that include announcement of their exam dates.
The authorities of the colleges, affiliated with Dhaka University, announced the exam dates after the incident on July 20.
The police action on the students, especially on Siddiqur, during an apparent peaceful demonstration sparked huge outcry on social media, with a call to bring the responsible policemen to book.
Following the incident, police that night filed a case against around 1,200 unnamed students of the seven colleges for “attempting to kill policemen, rioting with lethal weapons and damaging properties”.
A three-member probe committee is investigating the matter.
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