“At the hospital, all he kept saying was, ‘Oh, Mother, take the bullet out, I’ll survive. Brother, save me; Father, save me.’ If they had removed the bullet on the first day, my son might not have died. The doctors killed him.” These are the anguished cries of Rezia Khatun, mother of madrasa student Majedul Islam, who was killed during the student-people uprising.
On August 5, Majedul Islam (20) was shot in the Mouna area of Sreepur Upazila, Gazipur. He passed away on August 10 while undergoing treatment at Mymensingh Medical College Hospital. Majedul was a student of the Kitab section at Alhaj Alauddin Jamia Qurania Ahadia Madrasa near Mouna Overbridge in Gazipur. He had completed his Hifz studies at a madrasa in Dhobaura.
Majedul’s family home is in East Gamaritola Doriapara village in Gamaritola Union, Dhobaura Upazila, Mymensingh District. His father’s name is Abdul Mannan, and Majedul was the youngest of four brothers and one sister.
Majedul’s mother, Rezia Khatun, shared, “I told him not to go to the protest, but the religious leaders took him. That day, on August 5, around 9:30 in the morning, he called to ask about the situation in our area. I told him it was peaceful here. I also told him, ‘Son, don’t go to the protest, stay home.’ I asked him to stay inside with the religious leaders. I spoke to him again around 2:30 in the afternoon. But in the evening, I received the news that my son had been shot.”
According to the family, on August 5, Majedul went to the protest with other students from his madrasa. He was shot between 4 and 5 p.m. near Mouna, close to his madrasa. He was hit by a bullet below his navel and also sustained injuries to his leg. That evening, Majedul was admitted to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital, where they treated the wound on his leg and discharged him the next day. However, he continued to experience severe pain in his abdomen. On August 7, tests at a private hospital in Mymensingh revealed that a bullet was still lodged inside his abdomen. He was re-admitted to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital on the same day. On August 10, doctors performed surgery to remove the bullet. He was taken to the ICU as he didn’t regain consciousness. At 7 p.m. that evening, the doctors declared him dead.
Abdul Mannan, Majedul’s father, said, “I had hoped my son would one day lead the prayers for my funeral, but fate had other plans. I had to lead his funeral prayer instead. I told him not to go to the protest, but he came back as a corpse. My son died, and I want justice. But to seek justice, we need to file a case. We are poor people, and we haven’t filed any case.”
