Killers should get their dues
After waiting for 19 years, all Motaleb Mridha wants is to see the killers of his eldest son punished.
Mamun, then a second-year student at Dhaka's Kabi Nazrul College, was killed on the spot on August 21, 2004, when grenades exploded on an anti-terrorism protest led by the then opposition leader Sheikh Hasina on Bangabandhu Avenue.
After searching places, Motaleb found the body of his son, or whatever remained of it, at Dhaka Medical College Hospital's morgue, alongside other bodies.
Mamun worked part-time in his uncle Ali Hossain's shop and gave private lessons to students to support his poor family.
"Had my son been alive, he would have worked and run our family now. With Mamun gone, I am just counting my days," Mridha told this correspondent on Saturday.
With a heavy heart, Mridha and Mamun's mother, Morsheda Begum, accompanied this reporter to their son's final resting place, a somber graveyard. There, the elderly couple couldn't contain their emotions. With another anniversary approaching, they could only express their grief in tears.
While Mamun's four sisters are married since the fatal day, the elderly couple have the youngest daughter, Tuli, by their side. She is the only one to take care of them.
In the aftermath of Mamun's tragic demise, Sheikh Hasina provided the grieving family with Tk 10.25 lakh on October 16, 2014.
"The money was deposited in the Patuakhali Sonali Bank branch. We can withdraw Tk 8,600 from it per month. It is extremely helpful, but not enough to survive," Mridha said, adding that both he and his wife need medicine worth at least Tk 5,000 every month.
As they solely depend on the assistance, Mridha said he had to borrow money for the marriage ceremonies of his three daughters.
He said his youngest daughter Tuli, has passed her BA exam, but is unemployed.
"We could be financially secure if she had a job. I requested many people to give my daughter a chance, but to no avail," said Mridha.
Mamun's uncle Monir Mridha said that every August 21, Awami League leaders come and place flowers on his tomb, but no one keeps track of how Mamun's family is surviving.
Now after 19 years, both Mridha and Morsheda want to witness the execution of the October 10, 2018 verdict in which 19 people were sentenced to death and another 19 people to life term imprisonment.
"The killers responsible for my son's untimely end have faced trial, yet the judgment remains unrealised. We want to see my son's killers get their due within our lifetimes," expressed Morsheda.
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