Newspaper reports about the incident that took place in the New Market area in the capital on Monday night and throughout Tuesday between shop owners and Dhaka College students. The clashes prevailed in the city’s one of the main Eid shopping hubs. Caught in the midst of the clashes between the students and the shop owners — a salesman of the market in the area, a young man Nahid Hossain, was injured and later died. Another person, also a shopkeeper, Mursalin, died early Thursday. Two lives lost in the same incident.
Prior to leaving with his younger brother Mursalin’s body from Dhaka Medical College Hospital morgue, Nur Mohammad told newspersons, “What will happen by filing a case? There is no justice in this country. Whom will we file the case against? We knew nothing about how brother died. Only he and Allah know. We saw nothing other than hit an injury mark on his body.”
Mursalin, 26, left behind his mother, wife and two minor children — one daughter and one son. As the body was handed over to the relatives from the hospital morgue in the afternoon, it was then taken to their rented house in West Rasulpur in Dhaka’s Kamrangichar. Mursalin, a salesman at a clothing shop, was killed during the clashes between students and traders in the New Market area. He died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital early Thursday.
Mitu Akhter, wife of the victim Mursalim found grieving the death of her husband sitting in one corner of a room, while their daughter Humaira Akhter, 5, and son Mohammad Hamim, 3, were looking pale. With deep shock at the death of her husband, Mitu Akhter told reporters what will happen to my children now? To whom they will call father (Abba). Who will take care of these two children?
Condoling Mursalin’s death his mother Nurjahan
Begum told the media that her husband, a rickshaw puller, died eight years ago. They came from Titas area of Cumilla in search of life. When asked if she wanted justice in her son’s death, she said, “Whom I will seek justice. I want justice from Allah.”
On the other hand, the maternal aunt of another victim Nahid Hossain, said Nahid was the only earning member of his family. The family is now totally in distress. He also left behind his wife in pale of distress.
Initially, it was said that there had been an altercation between the salespersons and the students over an incident in a food shop. Now it is being said that the ruling party student front in Dhaka College wants to take over control of the New Market area and this instigated the violence. That is why, perhaps, the police failed to take immediate action. However, police have arrested BNP leader Makbul Hossain in a case filed on Thursday over the violence erupted between the Dhaka College students and New Market traders.
Whatever victims’ families said in the moment of grief about justice, their inner frustration is understandable when violence and killing go on as regular matters in public life. It is useless to go to file cases as they may invite more trouble. The country has no system. It may be found that the killers have political backing and police are helpless.
Our condolences go out to the families of both victims who lost their lives in a clash between the two sides in the New Market area. The government should offer compensation to these two families.
