Mahmudul Hossain, Shibir associate, passes away succumbing to police gunshot wounds

Mahmudul Hossain, Shibir associate, died a martyr today at a hospital in Dhaka after succumbing to wounds sustained on the 28^th of October 2013 when police fired upon crowds of protesters at Chatkhil, Noakhali.

Hospital sources informed that Mahmudul passed away on Wednesday (today) morning while still under intensive care.

It is mentionable that Mahmudul Hossain was injured on the 28^th of October when a Jamaat procession was attacked by the trio of police, BGB and the Awami League at Noakhali city. Suffering from a gunshot wound that entered through his chest, punctured his lungs and exited through his back, Mahmudul was initially admitted to a local hospital at Noakhali. On deterioration of his condition however, he was admitted to a hospital in Dhaka, where despite repeated operations and intensive care, he succumbed to his injuries.

Picture: Mahmudul being treated for gunshot wound that punctured his lungs

Mahmudul Hossain was a resident of Chatkhil pouroshobha, Noakhali. The second among three siblings, Mahmudul was an Alim 1^st year student of Al Madrasah Al Diniyyah at Maijdi. His father Khurshid Alam is an expatriate living abroad while his mother is a housewife. An associate of Shibir, friends and dear ones said that Mahmudul was exceptionally well behaved and possessed good character. He was active as an associate of Noakhali city zone and is the 181^st martyr in the history of Bangladesh Islami Chatra Shibir.

The namaaz e janaza of the shaheed (martyr) shall be held on Thursday at Chatkhil Kamil Madrassah Ground at 8:30 am. May Allah accept this sacrifice. May Allah bring to justice the perpetrators of this heinous crime which resulted in the death of an innocent life.       

About a Shibir martyr in Rajshahi and a Refutance of Yellow Media Reports

Rashedul Haque was like any other young man in Rajshahi. He was full of life, energetic, brilliant, active in sports and passionate in his love for his country. What set him apart from many other youth was the unique blend of all these qualities within the framework his strong faith; strong unshakeable faith in the Almighty that stood the test of time and oppression. He was shot by police today at a procession at Kajla adjacent to Rajshahi University (RU) on Saturday afternoon.

Witnesses said activists of RU unit Shibir were going to Talaimari in the city in a procession to participate in a rally of Matihar thana unit of the BNP-led 18-party alliance. As the procession reached Kajla gate, RAB members intercepted it, opening fire immediately in order to disperse the procession. Being resisted, the Shibir men pelted the elite force members with brickbats. 

As RAB continued to fire live rounds on the Shibir activists, Rashedul Haque Rantu fell, victim to the onslaught. Severely injured and bleeding from multiple bullet wounds to the chest, Rashedul died while receiving treatment at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital. 

Rashedul Haque Rantu was son of Aminul Islam Tuku and Rafi Begum. He was a 2nd year degree student of Islamiyya College. His was an associate of Bangladesh Islami Chatra Shibir and was a unit President as well as Finance Secretary of his thana at Dashmari Division of Rajshahi University. This is a video of Rashed at the hospital.

Another Shibir activist and Rajshahi University Research Secretary, Arif Rahman, was sent to Dhaka after his condition deteriorated in the aftermath of being bullet ridden. Doctors have reported of receiving at least 20 activists with injuries such bullet wounds. Chaotic scenes were described by distraught activists where one broke down while describing how his fellow activist received a bullet which entered through his femur, breaking the thigh bone and got lodged into the other thigh, causing immense bleeding.

Yellow journalism regarding incident:

Prothom Alo, a beacon of perceived ‘exemplary’ journalism in Bangladesh, was representative in its yellow nature regarding the coverage of the incident as it attempted to distort facts and present falsehood in a manner that left many a reader shocked. This was the screenshot of the initial news that Prothom Alo reported on the incident with a shocking picture of a 40 something man running around brandishing an AK-47 at everyone around him. The caption was, ”রাজশাহী নগরের কাজলায় শিবিরের সশস্ত্র মিছিল। এরা এই অস্ত্র কোথায় পেল? ওদের কাছে এমন কত অস্ত্র আছে? ছবি: শহীদুল ইসলাম” which translated into English reads, “Armed procession by Shibir at Kajla in Rajshahi City. From where did they get these weapons? How many more weapons of this kind do they have? Photo by Shahidul Islam”.

The news was taken down in a flash as an authentic video was released by Basherkella within a short time of the report. The contents of the shocking video not only blew away the baseless allegations of Prothom Alo, it also gave rise to a number of questions. The video showed a couple of men along with RAB shooting at protesters in Kajla at Rajshahi. The same man who was brandishing the AK-47 in the Prothom Alo picture was seen along with his mates working along with the police. The group working along with the armed RAB squad appeared to be civilians brandishing weaponry in an expert and aggressive fashion. The weaponry used by the unidentified men include a couple of AK-47’s and a shotgun. Let us look at the raw footage of the incident.

As to the question about what could the identity of such mysterious men be is anybody’s guess. Unless we have official answers, the guesses could range from local gangsters to ruling party League men to extrajudicial secret forces provided by the Indian intelligence agencies. For now, the best answer the security forces could garner was that they fired rubber bullets in ‘self defence’. This is a compilation of the yellow nature of the Prothom Alo report in conjunction with the incident.

The questions revolving around the incident are endless, but what remains is the fact that security forces have clearly violated all norms in attempting to carry out another massacre in the name of relatively peaceful crowd dispersion. The fact that the Hasina administration has neared its end gives weight to fears that the atrocities committed now may never see the light of justice. The question remains. Was the right to peacefully demonstrate in a democratic country the sole fault of Rashedul Haque Rantu for which he deserved to be brutally murdered in broad daylight?  

We demand justice for the murder of meritorious student Rashedul Haque Rantu at the hands of this oppressive regime.

Martyr Rafiqul Islam's blood cries out for justice in Bangladesh

Mass demonstrations were held by Bangladesh Islami Chatro Shibir, the largest Islamic students organization in Bangladesh, throughout the country on the 10th of October in demand for the release of all detained leaders including its central President Mohammad Delwar Hossain. Hundreds of thousands of students participated in these demos and photos and videos (Khulna, Jessore, Sylhet) in the aftermath of the demos were testimony to their peaceful nature despite the mammoth size of many such demonstrations.

Any democratic government would have welcomed such peaceful demonstrations and given an ear to the demands of any such movement, especially taking into consideration the fact that the movement to peacefully call for the release of a popular student leader was undertaken by the students themselves. But alas, the autocratic government again proved that it was just another wolf in a sheep’s clothing when it ordered police and security to actively disperse such peaceful public displays using unjustified brute force. The results were shocking as police suddenly turned on peaceful students with batons, rubber bullets, tear gas and live ammunition. Democracy was left with gouged out eyes as bullets rained freely on innocent young protesters. Precious blood flowed, yet again.

As he was returning back from one such demonstration at 3 pm in Dorshona, Chuadanga, Shibir associate Rafiqul Islam fell prey to police firing, paying the ultimate price for standing up to injustice. He passed away after a live bullet by police left him dead on the spot. Bright red blood spill out gushing on the street as martyr Rafiqul Islam breathed his last. Innalillahi wa inn ilaihi raajioon. Rafiqul Islam was not the only victim of this particular incident of police brutality. Five more students were bullet ridden, among whom Shibir activist Abdullah was taken to hospital in a critical condition.

Look at the picture below. Do you see a terrorist? An armed radical ? A rapist ? A murderer ? I see an enlightened college student who did not back down from demonstrating against injustice. I see innocence.

About the martyr:

Rafiqul Islam, the 178th martyr in the history of Shibir, at the time of his martyrdom/ shahadah was an examinee attending the 1st year final examinations in Economics. He was a student at Chuadanga Government College. Eldest son of Delwar Hossain of Boalia village of Sadar upazila of Chuadanga, Rafiqul Islam was an associate of Chatro Shibir and the president of the local Boalia unit of Shibir.

Propaganda by biased media:

Prominent secular media such as Shomoy TV, BBC Bangla, Ekattor TV along with a host of like-minded outlets in a bid to do a cover up, broadcast misleading and utterly despicable news on the incident under the headline, “Vandalism of a Puja shrine by Shibir, one dies by police fire.” This is in spite of the fact that Rafiqul Islam was shot beside Dorshona rail crossing on Chuadanga-Jessore road. It was understood through simple investigation that there were no Puja Shrines within 1.5 km of the place of the incident. So why such despicable falsehood? On whose orders did additional police superintendent Salahuddin order the police to fire on innocent peacefully demonstrating students? Time will come when such instances of judicial murder will see justice insa’allah. We wait for that day in the hope that such murderers in uniform and public offices will not be spared. May Allah accept the martyrdom of brother Rafiqul Islam and grant his family the patience to persevere in times of such hardship and heartbreak. May they see justice soon. Ameen.