Haunted forever

Her trauma has only increased with time. She had lost nine of her family members in a grisly arson attack at Kurmitola Bihari camp four months back.

Farzana, 16, the sole survivor of the arson, sustained severe burn injuries that left her bed-ridden at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital for two months. Broken down by searing memories, she still had her father Yasin Mia to take care of her.

Yasin Mia was lucky enough to remain outside of the house during the attack for professional reasons.

After her release from the DMCH, Yasin kept her in a relative's house as he could not afford the measures required for her full recovery. He was beset with extreme financial hardship following the attack.

When Yasin too died in a road accident last month, as if to make her loss complete, she was thrown in a sea of uncertainty.

"My father would visit me before going to and after returning from work each day. He took care of me as best as he could,” Farzana said, who now carries along a collage of photographs of her deceased family members.

"These are the only reminders I have of them," she said, pointing to the photographs.

After her father's death, some relatives are not as keen on providing her with shelter and care. Now she is staying with the family of Aslam Miah, another relative, at a Bihari camp in Mohammadpur.

She is still recovering from the burns as doctors said a surgery is required in her right hand, said Aslam.

In spite of her colossal loss, Farzana still dreams of better days. Talking to The Daily Star, she said she wanted to resume her studies after recuperating fully.

On the morning of June 14, their house was burned during a series of attacks allegedly carried out by local Awami League men who were aided by police, in which Farzana lost her mother and six siblings, among others.

No progress in investigation

Police are yet to make any significant progress in finding out the persons responsible for the arson attack, said Saiful Islam, additional deputy commissioner of DB, also investigating officer of a case filed in connection with the arson.

“So far we haven't been able to arrest anyone in this connection,” he told The Daily Star over the phone.

The DB officer said they are investigating only the arson, overlooking other incidents like vandalism that occurred throughout that morning.

He claimed detectives quizzed several people who witnessed the whole incident but could not extract “any significant clue”.

Four cases were filed with Pallabi Police Station in this connection on June 15. Police filed two cases while locals filed two, said Jalaluddin Bantu, a Bihari leader.

Seven Biharis were shown arrested in one of the cases while police mentioned over a thousand unidentified Biharis as responsible for the incident, he added. The arrestees are on bail now.

Bihari leaders earlier had provided law enforcers a CD containing mobile phone clips of the incident. The Daily Star too has collected a copy of the CD.

The clip shows thick palls of smoke billowing up from Yasin's house while about a hundred people gather on the road, apparently overlooking the dreadful incident. Around the same time, a policeman is seen firing gunshots towards the camp.

Bihari leader Sadaqat Khan of Kurmitola camp alleged that law enforcers were not properly investigating as their own members might get exposed.

None left to seek justice

While alive, Farzana's father had been preparing to file a case against some persons whom he identified from the video clip.

But that chance has also evaporated with his death, said Sadaqat.

Frustrated over the inefficiency of law enforcers, Aslam said he was not interested in any lawsuit because it may cause harm to Farzana and his family.

“Now my task is to raise the orphan girl so that she can have a better life,” he said.

Police arrested four persons in connection with Yasin's death including the drivers of two buses, said a police officer of Pallabi Police Station. Police also seized two buses, one of ETC Paribahan and another of Pallabi Super.