On July 16, students were protesting by blocking the Science Lab area in the capital. Around 1 PM, clashes broke out between the police, student organizations, and the protesters. At one point, the area turned into a battlefield, resulting in the deaths of two individuals.
One of the deceased was Sabuj Ali, a student of the Statistics Department at Dhaka College. The student organization claimed him as one of their own and organized a memorial service for him at Bangabandhu Avenue.
However, Sabuj’s family is now expressing a different story. Sabuj’s elder brother, Nurunnabi, alleges that his brother was not affiliated with any political party and that politics was played with his brother’s corpse.
Nurunnabi, who attended the memorial service organized by the ruling party, explained why he did not protest at that time. He said he was instructed to say that Sabuj was a member of the student organization. He repeatedly told them not to politicize his brother’s death and requested to take his brother’s body away.
With a tearful voice, Nurunnabi added that Sabuj was brutally killed. They had put great effort into sending Sabuj to Dhaka College, and the family felt as if they had been destroyed along with him.
Following Sabuj’s death, a case has been filed by the police at New Market Thana. However, Sabuj’s family is now pursuing a murder case. Sabuj’s other brother mentioned that they do not have a copy of the police case but were informed that the government would file a case.
Sabuj, from Nilphamari, supported his studies in Dhaka by secretly driving a rickshaw to help with family expenses. His family was eagerly awaiting his job prospects.