19-yr-old crippled as cop shoots him point-blank

As the July 20 mayhem centring on quota protest escalated on Dhaka-Chattogram road in Narayanganj, Mohammad Akash, 19, pulled down the shutters and locked the glass doors of the sweetshop, where he worked, to save his life.

But law enforcers broke open the shutters and the glass door and shot him anyway from close range to his left knee, he told The Daily Star.

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Akash, a storekeeper of Bikrampur Mishtanno Bhandar, will now be a cripple man for the rest of his life, as doctors had to amputate his left leg on Tuesday.

Akash worked at the shop for the last two and a half years, That Saturday he was in charge of safeguarding the establishment.

"Police forcibly entered the shop, breaking all the doors," says Akash.

They accused him of concealing his identity and being involved in violence. Akash says he repeatedly denied these allegations, but police mistook him as a troublemaker trying to hide in the shop.

Eyewitnesses, including Raju Hossain, the storeowner, and others present corroborated Akash's version, confirming his occupation as a dedicated worker, not associated with any protests or unlawful activities.

But the police refused to accept these assurances and all of a sudden one of them just shot Akash in the left knee causing him to crumple to the floor. Profusely bleeding and in excruciating pain, Akash was rushed by his family from one hospital to the other, in a desperate attempt to save his leg.

According to Akash's father Dulal Miah, one private hospital agreed to take him in and took Tk 2 lakh to treat him, promising to save his leg. "But they couldn't and ultimately, Aksah was sent to NITOR [Pangu hospital] and the leg had to be amputated," he said.

Akash was all set to go to Saudi Arabia for work hoping to end his family's financial woes. A single gunshot ended that dream for good.

"Now, all financial resources intended for his future abroad are being drained because of the medical expenses for his treatment," says Akash's father.

The family has already spent Tk 3 lakh on medical bills, including Tk 35 thousand for blood transfusions, depleting their savings. The future looks bleak and uncertain for them.

Akash, lying helplessly in the hospital bed could not reconcile with the fact that he had become disabled for life. "What will I do now?" he asks, "Should I beg in the streets?"

He may even have to forgo his meagre salary of Tk 7,500 from the store as he struggles with the devastating physical and emotional toll of his ordeal.

As Akash's family seeks justice and financial aid for an artificial leg, the incident has ignited widespread condemnation in his community.