Desk Report,
What happened to Abu Saeed’s body that day?
Last year, July 16. It was 3:05 PM. Abu Sayeed‘s name was written on the death certificate at the emergency department of Rangpur Medical College Hospital. The cause of death was stated in English as broad dead. That is, he died before being brought to the hospital.
What happened to Abu Saeed’s body that day?
Abu Sayeed’s friends and fellow fighters of the movement say that it was 2:18 PM when Abu Sayeed, who was held in front of a gun, was shot. Some fellow fighters rescued him from the gunshot wound and took him to the hospital. He was taken from the emergency department to the surgery department. There, the doctor confirmed his death after performing an ECG. But the hospital authorities were not publishing the news of Abu Sayeed’s death.
Abu Sayeed, a student of Begum Rokeya University, who was shot during the anti-discrimination student movement, was taken to Rangpur Medical College Hospital. He was first taken to the hospital in a battery-powered rickshaw, then in a battery-powered auto-rickshaw by Saju Basfour, the convener of the Samajtantrik Chhatra Front (Marxist) in Rangpur district, Nipun Roy, a student of Mahiganj College, and another student of Begum Rokeya University.
Recalling that day, Saju Basfour told Prothom Alo that although Abu Sayeed was taken in a rickshaw, it was not possible to keep him in the rickshaw after crossing the university area and near the BADC office. Then he was taken to the hospital in a battery-powered auto, crossing Lalbagh and Shapla Chattar and passing in front of the Kotwali police station in front of the hospital. After going halfway, Abu Sayeed’s body became stiff. There were blood clots on his nose and mouth. There were blood stains on both his hands. When he reached Rangpur Medical, he was taken to the emergency department and from there he was sent to the surgery department. The doctor did an ECG in the surgery department and did not tell anything. He was only talking about the director.
When Abu Sayeed was taken to Rangpur Medical Hospital, Raisul Farid, a student of the Physics Department of Rokeya University, was there. He said, “When the doctor said, he is no longer alive, I asked the doctor if we can take the body. He said, we have paper formalities (rules). If we do these, we can. He said, it will take time. We said, let’s see if the work can be done within 30 minutes. The doctor said, it will take a little more time. Then we waited a little more. In the meantime, the stretcher with the body was brought to the emergency department under the building. But 30-40 minutes passed. They were not giving the body. They were having meetings here, they were having meetings there. They were just saying, it will take time.” However, the students could not name the doctors on duty at that time. Therefore, it was not possible to take their statements.
