Wife of Md Masud (42), a small construction material trader, is facing uncertain future with her three minor sons as her husband embraced martyrdom during the July uprising.
Masud was fatally shot by “Helmet Bahini of Awami League (AL) and Jubo League” in front of his two sons on the road adjacent to Shahi Masjid in Merajnagar B-Block of the Rayerbag area of Jatrabari here when he went to offer Asr prayer around 5pm on July 19.
His family comprising his wife Hena Begum, 37, and sons Mahfuj, 11, a fourth-grader, Maruf, 09, third grader, and Mashrafi, 06, a nursery student, is now facing uncertainty and enduring unbearable agony losing their only breadwinner.
“Helmet Bahini brutally killed my husband in front of my two sons. My sons are now suffering from mental trauma,” Masud’s wife burst into tears while sharing her endless anguish with BSS recently at her residence in Rayerbag’s Merajnagar area.
Noting that the children becomes emotional and starts crying while recounting memories of their father, weeping Hena said, “How can I make you understand the agony of a mother rearing three children in absence of their father? How can I give them back their father?”
In a video captured by mobile phone from the rooftop of a building, it was seen that two youths wearing helmets were shooting indiscriminately from in front of a shop while some others were giving them instruction. One bullet hit Masud’s head and lodged inside.
The eyewitnesses claimed that on the same day, this “Helmet Bahini” killed four-year-old Abdul Ahad, who went to the balcony with his parents, before shooting Masud while walls of different residential buildings of the area are still bearing the signs of indiscriminate firing.
“My husband was an innocent person. He was not involved in politics of any party. He just went to offer Asr prayer. Then what was his fault? Why was he killed in such a brutal way?” The surrounding environment became heavy as she was sobbing while raising these questions.
Noting that her father and other family members were involved with the politics of AL, she said, “But the irony of fate is that Awami League snatched away my husband from my life”.
Umme Kulsum, wife of Masud’s brother, said being informed about Masud’s bullet injury when they went to rescue him, some AL-men came to obstruct them.
“But we raised our voice against them and said how dare you? After killing a man, you come to obstruct us from rescuing him! If you go too far, we will retaliate with brickbats,” she said, adding, at that time the “Awami goons” stepped back.
“Later, we rescued Masud and took him to Islamia Hospital in Jatrabari from where he was shifted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), where he breathed his last around 1.30am on the same day,” Kulsum said.
Sharing the experience of police harassment when they went to Kadamtali Police Station to lodge a general diary (GD) to get the body from the hospital, she said, “Police didn’t help us. Rather they scolded us and threatened to shoot”.
Later, they lodged the GD with Shahbag Police Station and received the body on July 21 following the postmortem.
Masud’s family faced harassment even when they went to Matuail Graveyard to bury him. “When we took the body to the graveyard, some AL thugs harassed us asking to show different types of documents,” Kulsum said.
Sharing the unbearable pain of running the four member family, Masud’s wife Hena said, “I am going through a very tough time with my three sons since my husband’s death as there is none to support me financially.”
She said her father died five years back and parents-in-law died 21 years ago while only her mother is alive, who is completely unable to support her.
Though she has four more siblings including two brothers and two sisters, Hena said her brothers are not in such a condition to support her financially.
Masud, the fourth among his four brothers, was living in a tin-shed house on his father’s land in the area with his own family and he managed his livelihood with the earnings from his trading till his death.
While visiting the house, this correspondent found Masud’s wife was living in a room with an attached bathroom and kitchen with an overhead concrete roof.
“We were living in a shanty type house and rain water used to fall inside our house. After my husband’s death, local people gave financial assistance to build this room,” wailing Hena said.
Noting that she has no source of income with which she can manage bread and butter for her family, sobbing Hena said, “I cannot go to any work keeping my little children at home as they are traumatized since their father’s demise. I am struggling to run the family”.
She said after managing breakfast somehow, she now has to face uncertainty over what she will give her children for lunch.
Bewildered Hena wants the government to take responsibility for her family, including the education of her three sons.
“The government should take care of us. If the government takes responsibility of my family, including bearing the education expenses of my children, it would give me a little bit of relief from a certain level of struggle,” weeping Hena said, adding, but the void caused by the death of her husband can never be filled.
Besides, the traumatized wife of Masud demanded trial of those who killed her husband and said, “I want trial of the then government too, who gave the order to kill people”.
