On July 20, during the afternoon, gunfire and clashes were ongoing in the Chittagong Road area of the capital. There was a running battle between the police and students, with the sounds of continuous gunfire and grenade explosions. Little Hussein Mia (10) had left home after lunch to sell popcorn, ice cream, and chocolates.
By 5:30 PM, there was no sign of Hussein. His father, Manik Mia, went out in search of him, but he was nowhere to be found. After two hours of searching in the opposite direction due to the clashes, he saw that his son had still not returned home. Manik Mia locked his two young daughters inside the house and went out with his wife, Maleka Begum, to search for their child. They searched thoroughly in the Chittagong Road area and its surroundings but could not find Hussein.
Later, around 9 PM, someone came and showed Hussein’s photo on a mobile phone. Manik and Maleka recognized their son in the distressing images of his injuries. They learned that Hussein had been taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Without delay, the couple took a pickup truck to Jatrabari. Once there, they faced more difficulties—there were no vehicles on the road. They walked and rested intermittently, navigating through areas of conflict. They eventually managed to reach Dhaka Medical College around 12:30 AM by begging a rickshaw driver. After searching everywhere in the hospital, they could not find Hussein. When they asked the doctors, they were told that many injured from Chittagong Road had been brought in, and treatment was ongoing. They waited until 2 AM, thinking the treatment was still underway. At that point, someone asked why they were waiting. When they explained their situation, the person took them to the mortuary, where they found their son’s body among many others. Manik Mia fainted upon seeing Hussein’s lifeless body, and Maleka Begum’s screams filled the hospital.
After being shot and killed, Hussein’s body was buried at his maternal grandparents’ home in the Betra village of Rajamehar Union, Debidwar Upazila, Comilla, at 2 AM on July 22. Hussein’s uncle, Mostafa Kamal, confirmed this information to Prothom Alo. He said, “Even though Hussein’s family lived in Dhaka, they had little means. They managed to survive on what they earned from peddling. When we heard that Hussein’s body was being brought, we bought a shroud for him with the help of a few people. We had to request the shopkeeper to open the shop to buy the shroud. We also got bamboo and dug the grave. We performed the funeral prayers around 2 AM on Monday and buried him afterward. The loss of their child has left the parents in constant distress. On Friday morning, when we visited Betra village in Debidwar, we found Manik Mia and Maleka Begum sitting by their house door. They were not comforted by the neighbors or relatives. They cried repeatedly while looking at their son’s photos. The parents’ grief moved the neighbors to tears as well.
Manik Mia said his home is in Barashal village of Brahmanbaria Sadar Upazila. He has no relatives there. After marriage, he lived with his in-laws. About five years ago, he moved to Dhaka, where he lived in a rented house in Chittagong Road Mukti Nagar and worked all day selling chips, chocolates, and ice cream. The deceased 10-year-old Hussein was his eldest son, who also worked as a peddler. Manik and Maleka have two other daughters, Mahinur Akter (8) and Shahinur Akter (6).
Manik Mia said, “After seeing my son’s body in the hospital, I no longer wish to live. He was such a small child. Two bullets hit him. One bullet penetrated through his abdomen and exited on the other side, and the other entered his waist. I don’t know how much pain my child must have endured. Why did Allah take my child away?”
His mother, Maleka Begum, cries out to her son’s picture, “Hussein, just call me once; it will cool my heart.” After calming down, Maleka Begum adds, “That day my son was not well. He said he would use the money from selling popcorn and ice cream to pay for my treatment. My son will not return.” Manik Mia said, “My son died on Saturday evening. We faced so many troubles bringing his body. We went from one office to another, filed a general diary at the police station, and signed many documents. Finally, we got the body on Monday night around 2 AM.”
Regarding the incident, Comilla’s District Commissioner Khondkar Mu. Mushfiqur Rahman said he was not aware of the details. After receiving the victim’s information from the reporter, he said he would instruct the Debidwar Upazila Executive Officer (UNO) to provide all possible assistance to the family.
