Shot by police, incapacitated for life

Kanchon Mia, a worker of Creative Collection Limited, an RMG factory owned by the conglomerate Ha-Meem Group, is fighting for his life at bed number five, ward-219 of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).  

While protesting for Eid holidays, Kanchon was shot with pellet guns at point blank range by police and became badly wounded.

The surgeons at DMCH removed as many as 101 pellets from his intestines, and a large part of his intestines and lower abdomen had to be removed surgically to save his life.

For the rest of his life, Kanchon will not be able to do any strenuous work, and since the first surgery, he passes urine and stool only through an external bag attached to his punctured abdomen.

The seven-member family, in which Kanchon was the only breadwinner, is fighting hard to gather enough money for Kanchon's treatment.

Kanchon's wife Fatema Begum said, "Since the first surgery, we've already spent more than Tk 3 lakh for his treatment, and we've sold our last belongings to collect this money. Every day, we have to change his stool bag, which costs Tk 1,000."

"Besides, he needs expensive medicines and nutritious food to recover. How can we buy him those when we don't have enough money to eat a square meal? My husband has become so thin that he looks like a skeleton," said a weeping Fatema.

On May 10 this year, workers of Creative Collection Limited were protesting at Tongi's Millgate area to extend their Eid holidays.

Police allegedly started firing pellets at the protesters without any provocation. Twelve workers of the factory, including Kanchon, were injured by pellets.

According to Kanchon, he was shot twice. The second shot was fired from point-blank range and pierced his lower abdomen.

Kanchon recounted this horrific incident, "After getting hit by pellets for the first time, I fell on the ground and then crawled to flee from the spot. Suddenly, a cop came to me and fired at my lower abdomen. Then some people picked me up and locked me inside a toilet of the factory. After many hours, I was rescued by my colleagues, who took me to the hospital."

Contacted, Khandaker Lutful Kabir, commissioner of Gazipur Metropolitan Police, said, "Police never fire shots without provocation. We had to shoot only to control the situation. You should also ask the factory authority about why the situation deteriorated in such a scale."

When asked to clarify what unruly activity they had to "control", he said workers were "blocking the highway".

According to duty doctor at DMCH, huge number of pellets remained stuck in his intestines for a long time, which caused internal bleeding, blood clot and infection. As a result, a large part of his intestines and lower abdomen had to be removed surgically.

Kanchon again got admitted to DMCH on September 2 for gut reconstruction surgery. However, the doctors are hesitating to operate on him due to his severely malnourished condition.

"His heart is not functioning properly. Once the surgery is done, he will be able to pass urine and stool normally, but any type of strenuous work will not be good for him. But, the main problem is he is extremely malnourished," said the duty doctor.

Initially, Kanchon's family received Tk 75,000 during the first

surgery from Ha-meem Group, although they had to spend at least Tk 156,000 during their stay in hospital from May 10, 2021 to June 5, 2021.

Kanchon and his family alleged that they did not get any response from the factory authority despite repeated calls.

When The Daily Star contacted Ha-Meem Group -- one of the largest local clothing manufacturers, which has international clients like Gap and H&M -- about Kanchon's condition, its authorities claimed they did not know about Kanchon's second time admission into the hospital and added that they would pay for his entire treatment.  

Major (retd) Khairul Basher, executive director (compliance) of Ha-Meem group said, "Kanchon and his family members probably contacted the former managers of Creative Collection Limited, who did not convey the message to us, as they are not with us anymore. Once we learned about his condition from you and some of our workers, we then sent our officials to DMCH to see him and to get an estimation of his treatment cost. We shall pay for his entire treatment as promised. As long as he is our employee, he will also be getting his salary regularly."

"If Kanchon is declared not fit for work, we shall pay all his dues immediately and arrange a compensation for him, as per the labour law. But, we hope that Kanchon will recover and join our team soon," Basher added further.

The Daily Star confirmed that Kanchon's wife had received Kanchon's due salary, amounting to Tk 64,950, and Tk 81,000 treatment cost. The family will also receive their due of Tk 41,484 for treatment today.

However, the amount is hardly enough to meet his ever-increasing treatment cost. And, as Kanchon was the only earning family member, Fatema is seeing a bleak future waiting for her, especially as there is little hope that Kanchon can get back to work.

She said, "My eldest son is an SSC examinee. I have four young children. My husband's income was our only means of sustenance. We sold all our assets for his treatment. I don't know how I shall take care of my young children and ailing husband at home."

"I had a dream of educating my children. But, I cannot see any way to continue their schooling anymore. It's unlikely that my husband will be able to work again," said Fatema, with tears in her eyes.

According to labour rights activists, Kanchon should get at least Tk 50 lakh to Tk 1 crore as compensation.

Mahtab Uddin Ahmed, labour rights researcher and head of the research and public campaign of Drik, has been following Kanchon's case from the very beginning.

He said, "Kanchon and his colleagues were protesting peacefully. The factory authority failed to convince the workers, called the police and Kanchon was shot. So, the factory authority cannot avoid responsibility."

"Kanchon Mia has been made incapacitated for the rest of his life, and it was no accident. The factory authority and the government both should compensate Kanchon for the irreparable loss they caused. Considering the time Kanchon could serve the factory, the treatment cost and physical and mental trauma he suffered, the compensation should be no less than Tk 1 crore," said Mahtab.

Shahidul Islam Shabuj, coordinator of Garments Sramik Adhikar Andolon (RMG Workers' Rights Movement), said, "If Kanchon becomes disabled for the rest of his life, he should get compensation that will be equal to his income for the number of years he was supposed to work for but could not do due to his disability. So, the amount of compensation should be at least Tk 50 lakh."

According to the labour law, however, a permanently disabled worker is only entitled to Tk 1.25 lakh.