Jessore shopkeeper now fighting for life
He is just an ordinary man with no link with political or criminal activities. Yet he is fighting for life being shot point-blank by police during their action on 20-party alliance activists.
Aminul Islam Kamal, a staff of a shop on Mujib Road in Jessore, underwent two surgeries at National Institute of Chest Disease and Hospital (NICDH) in the capital’s Mohakhali yesterday.
Doctors had to cut a part of his lunge as it was riddle by pellets. “He is still not out of danger”, said Dr Abdur Rahim, registrar of Thoracic surgery department of NICDH.
The 45-year-old had not regained consciousness as of around 9:00pm yesterday.
On Wednesday afternoon, the BNP-led 20-party alliance organised a human chain protesting Posts and Telecommunications Minister Latif Siddique’s derogatory statements on Hajj.
A clash ensued after police attempted to detain several BNP leaders from the spot and the party men resisted.
Amid running battles, the cops indiscriminately attacked whoever was found on the road, injuring activists, passersby and journalists. At one stage, they started firing shotguns.
According to witnesses, police firing was so indiscriminate that even a cop received pellet wounds.
Sensing danger, Kamal came out of his garment retail shop, “First Craze”, and started closing the shutters, said eyewitness.
But cops pounced on him, kicked him to the ground. And one of the police shot him, holding the muzzle of the gun against his left chest, witnesses said.
Wounded, Kamal was detained by police and rushed to Jessore Medical College Hospital around 4:00pm.
Doctors asked the family members to take him to the capital as his condition was very critical. But the transfer was delayed for several hours as police cited legal bar saying Kamal was involved in the violence.
After repeated requests, family members were allowed to take Kamal to Dhaka with a four-member police team. They reached NIDCH at Mohakhali around 3:00am yesterday.
Meanwhile, Tariqul Islam, a standing committee member of BNP, said at a press conference at Jessore Press Club that Kamal is not an activist of BNP.
But Enamul Haque, officer-in-charge of Kotwali Police Station, said a case was filed yesterday morning against “126 activists including Kamal, who was present at Wednesday’s protest programme”.
Contacted, Jessore Superintendent of Police Anisur Rahman said, “Kamal and constable Motiur received bullet injuries, fired by the protesters, not police.”
He said primary investigation found that Kamal is an activist of BNP. “Investigation is going on in this regard, if he is found innocent, we will withdraw his name form the case.”
Kamal’s maternal uncle Sirajul Islam Sikdar said, “Kamal has never involved in any criminal activities. He worked under an NGO project in Nilphamary. He came back to Jessore a year ago after the project tenure was over.”
A resident of Newtown under Jessore Sadar upazila, Kamal is the eldest among four sons of freedom fighter late Rezaul Haque Sardar.
Source: The Daily Star