Staff correspondent :

It was 19th July. The time might be between 5:30pm to
6pm. We were adjacent to the New market Petrol Pump. Chase and counter chase took
place between protesters of Anti-discrimination Student Movement and members of
law enforcement agencies.

“After hearing several sounds of gunshot, I looked behind and saw a boy sitting just like he was praying namaz. By that time police crossed us. I and my two friends went near the boy. I tightly held him. He looked upon me and said, “Bhai (brother) please, take me to a hospital. Then he laid down on our hands,” said Alamgir who took part in protest on that day under the banner of Anti-discrimination Student Movement.

Alamgir continued, “We hired a rickshaw and put him on the rickshaw.  He was then
alive.  I unlocked his phone with his finger. I came to know his name from the college identity card hanged around his neck.  I called a number from the dial list and informed that Shovon was shot by police, and we were taking him to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital. I requested him to inform his family about the matter.”

“On the way, I felt a deep breath, Shovon might have breathed his last then,” Alamgir said, adding, when they reached the hospital the entire emergency department was occupied by injured and dead people.

“A doctor checked his pulse and said he has already died,” this is how Alamgir
described the final moments of Saidul Islam Shovon, who died on July 19 while
protesting at the anti-discrimination student movement in the city’s Newmarket area.

Shovon passed his HSC from Sheikh Borhan Uddin College last year. He was taking
preparation for going to Japan for studies and his required papers were almost ready.But Shovon will not be able to go there.

Shahnaz Begum, mother of Shovon, said, “That day was Friday. My Shovon was
eating biryani after Jummah prayers. His friends were calling him repeatedly. Shovon ate his lunch and left in a hurry….”

“I did not know that was my son’s last meal !!,” Shahnaz said.

“In the evening, a boy from the neighborhood came and told me that Shovon was shot
by police, he was being taken to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital.

His father was then in India “I rushed to the hospital…I saw my son’s frozen body lying on a trolley at a corner of the emergency department …My Shovon was no more”, Shahnaz cried loudly while narrating.

“We got scared as my son died taking part in the movement…. we were fearing what
would happen, if police came to know about this and arrest us. So, we hurriedly
brought out my son’s body from the hospital without an autopsy.

A few years back on one 21st February. Then Shovon was a student of Class XII. He
made a poster and posted it on Facebook.

The poster comprised of pictures of five language martyrs: Salam, Barkat, Rafiq,
Shafiq, Jabbar and Shovon himself and a Shaheed Minar, a monument built to pay
tribute to the martyrs who sacrificed their life for language.

In the passage of time, all the characters of that poster embraced the same fate, as all of them are now martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the cause of the nation.

Shovon’s mother Shahnaz Begum said, “We didn’t notice that my son had tremendous
love for the country, and who knew one day my Shovon would embrace martyrdom like
language veterans.”

After Shovon’s death, we scrolled through his Facebook account then we found this
poster. Did the God write martyrdom on his fate or Shovon wanted to be a martyr?”
Shahnaz lamented.

Nazrul Islam, father of Shovon who is a businessman, said: “I was so happy with my
son. He was a well-behaved child. Everything has been shattered with Shovon’s
death. My beautiful family has been destroyed. I don’t know how we will spend the rest of our lives. What a pain !!”

“We do not want anything from the government. We want Shovon’s dream to come
true.  May all the dreams of Shovon regarding the country be fulfilled.  May countrymen remember Shovon forever. The countrymen must not forget the sacrifice of Shovon.”

Delwar Hossain, acting principal of Borhanuddin College, said, “Shovon was a very
brave boy. He is our national hero. The new era of the country has been ushered in
through the sacrifice of young people like Shovon. We will not forget the contribution of these national heroes”, he added.

Chankhar intersection here has been named as “Shovon Chatwar” in memory of
Shovon. Shovon is a role model for all, he added.

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