Sohan Shah, who had taken on the responsibility of supporting his family at a young age, succumbed to his injuries after 39 days of fighting with a bullet lodged in his chest. The family’s dreams were shattered as Sohan, who was the sole breadwinner for his parents, wife, and school-going younger brother, was shot during a student movement against discrimination. Now, his family is left in dire straits.
Sohan Shah (29) hailed from Altuf Hossain Mahila College Road in the Sreepur Upazila town of Magura. To save money, he left his wife with his parents in the village while he stayed in a mess in Dhaka for work. He was building a new house in his village home, where he had hoped to live a happy life with his wife, Shompa Begum. However, that dream remains unfulfilled. On July 19, Sohan was shot in the Rampura area of Dhaka. After 39 days, on August 27, he passed away at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Dhaka while undergoing treatment. On the same day, after an autopsy at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, his body was taken to his village home in Sreepur for burial.
Visiting Sohan’s village home in Sreepur on Thursday afternoon, it was clear that his wife Shompa Begum’s mourning was inconsolable. Family members were trying to comfort her in various ways. She kept saying, “How will I survive without Sohan?” Shompa Begum mentioned that they had married on November 19, 2017, and had lived together in Dhaka for three years. Sohan had continued to work in Dhaka while leaving his wife with his family in the village. Shompa Begum said, “We come from a middle-class family. Due to financial constraints, he stayed in Dhaka alone. We couldn’t even live together because of money. For the past year, we were building a new house in the village. He told me, ‘Shompa, you and I will live in this house.'”
Shompa’s last conversation with her husband was at CMH in Dhaka on Tuesday. At that time, Sohan told Shompa, “Don’t cry. Nothing will happen to me.” However, Sohan did not return. Even though the bullet was removed from his body through surgery, the bleeding could not be stopped. Despite 18 bags of blood, Sohan could not be saved. Despite the financial struggles, Shompa mentioned that there was no shortage of love: “There was no one else for me but my husband. He was always there for me in every situation. He used to say, ‘Don’t worry, I’m here for you.’ Allah didn’t even bless me with a child. How will I survive now?”
Sohan, after completing his higher secondary education from Sreepur Degree College in Magura, took up a job nearly ten years ago to support his family. Until his death, he was working as a mechanical engineer at a garment factory in the Rampura area of Dhaka. His father, Shah Sekendar, had been unemployed for over a decade after closing down his business. Sohan’s only younger brother is a student in the eighth grade.
Shah Sekendar told Prothom Alo, “My son was smart, hardworking, and responsible from a young age. He started earning from a very young age. Especially after marriage, he never sat idle for a single day. Even when he didn’t have a job, he came home and did masonry work. He even used to give me pocket money. The day he died, he sent me one thousand taka through Bkash in the morning and said, ‘Withdraw this money and come.’”
Sohan’s mother, Sufia Begum, was also lamenting the loss of her son. She said, “My son understood my feelings. Even if I hid something, he would figure it out. He would send money and say, ‘Mom, don’t stash this in your scarf; buy whatever you need. I won’t let you starve on my income.’” Sufia Begum added, “Who will say this to me now? Everyone is here, except my son.”
Sohan Shah was shot around 4:30 PM on July 19, Friday, near the Rampura CNG pump area. At that time, he was accompanied by two colleagues, Oliul Islam and Nur Hossain. On that day, regarding their decision to join the protest, Oliul Islam told Prothom Alo over the phone on Friday, “We saw many student brothers die right before our eyes. We couldn’t stay home.”
Colleagues and family members stated that after being shot, Sohan was first taken to Better Life Hospital by his two colleagues. From there, he was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for preliminary treatment. An X-ray confirmed the presence of a bullet in his chest, but the hospital authorities did not admit him. According to family members, there was a clash ongoing at Dhaka Medical College at that time. Police and members of the Awami League were reportedly assaulting the injured. Under such circumstances, they fled from there. The family members tried to get Sohan admitted to several other public and private hospitals but were unsuccessful. After wandering for about 12 hours in an ambulance, he was finally admitted to the National Institute of Diseases of the Chest and Hospital (NIDCH) at around 4:30 AM. A minor surgery was performed on the same day, but the bullet remained in his body.
Sohan’s colleague, Oliul Islam, told Prothom Alo that on July 22, while helping Sohan with oxygen at the Chest Disease Hospital, police came and accused them of being “Jamaat-Shibir” members and beat them with batons. Another colleague, Nur Islam, who was sitting outside, was also beaten. Oliul Islam was then detained by the police and taken to Banani Police Station, where he was held for four hours before being released.
Family members said that after the shooting, they had planned to take Sohan to India for advanced treatment. They faced numerous obstacles while trying to get a passport. Even when Sohan was admitted to the Chest Disease Hospital in Dhaka, his father learned through locals that his son was named as an accused in a sabotage case filed at Sreepur Police Station.
According to court sources, on July 24, Sub-Inspector (SI) Md. Abdul Khalek of Sreepur Police Station filed a case under the Special Powers Act and Explosive Substances Act, naming 95 individuals as accused and listing 150 to 200 unidentified persons. Shah Sekendar’s son Sohan was named as the 18th accused in the case (listed as Sekendar Shah in the case file). The complaint alleged that on the morning of July 24, around 6 AM, the accused gathered in the field of Altaf Hossain Women’s College in Sreepur and detonated crude bombs, causing public panic.
Shah Sekendar told Prothom Alo, “I believe that knowing he was shot, locals and police conspired to falsely accuse him in the case. I demand justice for all the wrongs, starting from the shooting of my son to the obstacles in his treatment and the false case against him.”
