Poor parents not compensated yet
Taposh Sarker would repeatedly tell his mother that bad days would be over soon.
“Don't worry, mother; keep patience for a few years; I'll take responsibility of the family,” the Chittagong University student said.
It was his last conversation with his mother before the tragedy struck a week later -- Taposh was shot dead during a factional clash of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL).
In that conversation, he also said he would not need much money anymore because he was going to get accommodation in a hall.
“We hoped someday he would graduate and get a good job,” his mother Anjali Sarker told The Daily Star, at Nidhipur village of Sunamganj's Jamalganj upazila.
A first-year student of Sanskrit and activist of BCL, Taposh was killed on December 14 last year.
His mother is living in a hut with his father Babul Sarker, now in his 60s, and four brothers -- Ashish, Alay, Shraban, and Nikesh -- at Nidhipur.
Two years back, the Surma River devoured their Bishnupur village home, Anjali said, adding that Shraban was studying in class XII and Nikesh in class IX now and the family wanted to let them continue their study.
Taposh's eldest brother Ashish said they were yet to repay the money with which they bought the new homestead.
Moreover, his aging father has lost the ability to work, he said. Babul Sarker urged the CU authorities to give jobs to his two sons, Ashish and Alay, both day labourers, at the university.
Vice Chancellor Prof Iftekhar Uddin Chowdhury said he would take necessary steps as per the university rules if he received an application.
Meanwhile, BCL had opened an account in the name of Taposh's mother to receive compensation from the university. But Ashish said no money was deposited in the account yet.
Fazle Rabby Sujan, general secretary of the CU unit BCL, told The Daily Star that they wrote to then proctor and then VC for the compensation and jobs but did not get any response.
He said they would meet the new VC and write to the proctor after the end of the Eid-ul-Azha holidays.
Taposh was an activist of Choose Friends with Care (CFC), a university shuttle train-based BCL faction, which clashed with rival group Varsity Xpress (VEx).
Following the fighting, a CFC activist sued 45 VEx men for the murder, while police lodged an arms case accusing five BCL activists and 60 unidentified people.
The murder accused include ex-cultural secretary of CU BCL Ashrafuzzaman Asha, former environment secretary Enamul Hasan Ovi, and activists Rubel Dey, Shahrid Shuvo and Farhad Hossain.
Sub-inspector Mustafizur Rahman of the Police Bureau of Investigation, Chittagong, said 13 accused persons had been arrested in two cases but all were bailed. He said police were trying to arrest the rest including the prime murder accused Asha. Two weeks back, SI Mustafizur, also investigator of the murder case, told The Daily Star that the charge sheet would be filed in a month.
A leader of CFC and ex-joint general secretary of the BCL unit, Suman Mamun, claimed that Asha fired the bullet that hit Taposh. However, VEx leader Jalal Ahmed said Taposh was killed by CFC itself.
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