On a scorching afternoon, the lifeless body of Shraban, his head wrapped in his mother's scarf, lay on the blood-stained road: A heartbreaking scene—Feni weeps for Shraban.

Feni, Sep 10 (V7N) - On August 4th, a tragic massacre took place in Mohipal, Feni, during a student-led protest against inequality. Feni’s promising youth, along with ordinary people from various walks of life, lost their lives in the struggle for national rights.

The bloodshed of students on Dhaka’s streets echoed deeply in the heart of martyr Shraban. He told his mother, "Amma, injustice is happening in this country. If we don’t protest, Allah won’t forgive us." The student movement against discrimination, which had erupted in July, spread its flames to Feni. The roar of bullets from the oppressors turned Mohipal into a bloodbath in an instant. On August 5th, the nation found relief, but on August 4th, Shraban’s lifeless body lay on the blood-soaked road.

August 4th marked the first day of a non-cooperation movement called by students against discrimination. On the Dhaka-Chittagong highway in Mohipal, Feni, students and civilians peacefully staged a sit-in. As usual, Shraban joined the protest with his friends that morning. His peers mentioned that he had been a regular face in the anti-discrimination movement in Feni.

The grieving mother of the deceased, Fatema Akhtar Shiuli, tearfully recalled, “My son used to say, ‘Amma, now is the time to speak out against injustice.’ Despite my warnings, he would go out every day for the country. He always tied one of my scarves around his head and wore a jersey with his name when joining the protests. His uncle and father tried to dissuade him, but he would reply, 'If we don’t protest against wrong, we will have to answer to Allah.'"

She continued, "The night before he died (August 3rd), he was acting restless. At 3 a.m., he came to my room, woke me up, spoke a few words, and then left. He said he wanted to eat rice but didn’t. After praying Tahajjud and Fajr, he went to sleep. That was the last time we spoke."

Through tears, she added, “Shraban’s friend Mahfuz brought his body home. Some local people, acting like demons, rushed to bury my son. I wanted to hold my Shraban, to see his face for a little longer. They didn’t give me that chance. They didn’t let me keep my son with me.”

Ifrad, a childhood friend of Shraban, said, “I may have many friends, but no one like Shraban will ever come into my life again.”

According to family sources, 19-year-old Shraban was an organizer and a cricketer. He served as the vice president of the 2021-22 committee of the National Children's Task Force (NCTF) in Feni, as confirmed by former NCTF president Mostafiz Murad. Before that, Shraban was a general member of several committees in the organization. In 2022, he served as assistant returning officer in the NCTF’s biennial election. After retiring from NCTF, he became an active member of YES Bangladesh in Feni district.

Shraban was also a member of Feni Cricket Academy. According to the academy’s head coach, Riaz Uddin Robin, Shraban had participated in two tournaments held among cricket academies in Feni and was exemplary in character.

Shraban’s friends shared that on August 4th, he joined the sit-in protest at Mohipal, part of a one-point movement demanding the government's resignation. Around 2 p.m., Awami League members brutally opened fire on the students. A bullet hit Shraban in the chest. His friends rescued him and took him home, and later to Feni General Hospital, where doctors declared him dead. Shraban became the first martyr of the student movement in Feni, giving his life to safeguard the nation.

Family sources said that Ishtiaq Ahmed Shraban was born on December 12, 2004. He passed his HSC from Feni Government College in 2023 and was awaiting university admission for higher education. His father, Nesar Ahmed, lived with Shraban’s mother and siblings in Barahipur, Feni town, while their ancestral home was in Anandapur Union, Fulgazi Upazila. Shraban was the eldest of three siblings and the only son in the family.

END/MKB/SMA/