Siddiqur returns after treatment in India

M Siddiqur Rahman
M Siddiqur Rahman

Titumir college student Siddiqur Rahman has returned home after completing his eye treatment in Chennai, India.

He arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on a Maldives Airlines flight at 3:15pm on Friday.

His elder brother Nayeb Ali was with him.

Talking to journalists at the airport, Siddiqur Rahman said, "My struggle will be successful if a normal academic atmosphere returns to the seven government colleges in Dhaka. I thank the state for sending me abroad for treatment as I didn’t have the means. The health minister followed up on my treatment."

Making a request to the prime minister, Siddiqur said, "I want to finish my studies and don’t want to be neglected. I want to live with dignity, in a decent way."

About the condition of his eyes, Siddiqur said, "There is some hope of getting my eyesight back. It will take six weeks more to know for certain."

In reply to a question, Siddiqur said, "I am a victim, but I hold no anger against anybody. The authorities will take action if anybody has committed any excesses."

His classmates, who went to the airport to welcome him, chanted slogans demanding the punishment of those who are responsible for his damaged eyes.

Siddiqur sustained injuries to his eyes during a demonstration at Shahbagh in the city on 20 July, when the police threw tear gas shells at agitating students of seven government colleges, affiliated with the University of Dhaka.

On 27 July, Siddiqur Rahman was sent to Chennai in India for further treatment after being treated at the capital’s National Institute of Ophthalmology and Hospital in Dhaka.