Nafiz was still alive on the way to hospital after being shot

When the police laid Golam Nafiz, who had been shot, on the footrest of a rickshaw, he was still holding on to the frame of the rickshaw with one of his hands.

As the rickshaw puller named Nur Mohammad tried entering a hospital at Farmgate area in the capital several Awami League leaders barred them, said the journalist who witnessed it. The rickshaw puller then moved towards Khamarbari area taking 17-years old Golam Nafiz with him.

Despite obstruction from the police and the Awami League leaders, a photo journalist from the Daily Manab Zamin, Jibon Ahmed was able to click a few photos of Nafiz, dangling from the footrest of the rickshaw.

A photo of Nafiz that was printed on the first page of the daily went viral on social media, Facebook after 4 August midnight. And, Nafiz’s parents found his body with the help of that photograph.

Now the parents and that photojournalist regret thinking that the boy might have been saved if he could have been taken to the hospital faster and given first aid.

Golam Nafiz was shot dead in a clash that spread centering the quota reform movement of the students.

After passing the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations from capital’s Banani Bidyaniketan School and College with a GPA-5, he had just gotten himself admitted to class eleven in the college. He lived in Mohakhali area with his family. Nafiz was the younger of two brothers.

While visiting his home on Saturday afternoon, a large banner was found hanging in his room. This banner printed by Banani Bidyaniketan School and College displays a photo of Nafiz smiling side by side with the photo of him dangling from the rickshaw, bloodied and a national flag tied on to his head.  

Nafiz’s elder brother, Golam Russel has passed Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) exams and now he’s going to get himself admitted in a private university. Nafiz had organised his reading table with his brother’s old books. He had a new college uniform tailored and had bought a matching sweater to wear with it in winter. All these are lying idle in his room now.

Nafiz’s father Golam Rahman and his mother Nazma Akhter sitting in Nafiz’s room, unwrapped their son’s new college uniform, a blue-coloured ball and a remote-controlled toy car from his childhood. They said, “Though he was studying in college, Nafiz still used to play with those. He also did debates in his school.”

Pointing at the bloodied body of their son resting on the footrest of the rickshaw, a businessman in profession Golam Rahman said, “Look at that, my son was holding on to the iron frame of the rickshaw. I looked for him everywhere. Only if I had found him then, I could have tried to save him. The bullet that hit my son on the chest went out through his back. Later, I just heard that my son was in the morgue.”

After speaking to Nafiz’s family members, friends and some other people, it has been revealed that Nafiz went to the protest and got shot under the foot over bridge at Farmgate intersection around 4:30 in the afternoon on 4 August. Nafiz had left his cellphone at home. Around 3:00 pm, he had called his mother from a friend’s phone to tell her that he was near Farmgate, he was safe and he would come home soon.  

Golam Rahman was saying the situation on the street was terrible that day. He had gone out to look for his son. He even faced police obstruction a few times. He circled around Farmgate and Sonargaon areas several times. He also enquired in different police stations. He had thought that his son might have been detained and taken way to a police station.

Without finding him there, he went to find him at Dhaka Medical College Hospital and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical College Hospital as well. Golam Rahman said, “Without finding him anywhere I returned home around 12:00 am. Right after that my elder son showed me the photo published on Daily Manab Zamin. And, I realised that my son might already be dead by that time. I started searching for my son at different hospitals.”

He continued, “There were 27 bodies laying at Dhaka Medical College Hospital morgue. We are not used to looking at bodies. Still we checked there to see if we can find my son. After seeing the photo from Manab Zamin I realised that my son has died. But, I had to find out his body no matter what. After all, you cannot reason with the heart though.”

By that time, the clock had stricken 3:30 am already. Nafiz’s maternal uncle Abul Hashem phoned Golam Rahman to tell him that Nafiz’s body was laying at Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital’s morgue. After bringing his son’s body from there, he himself performed the bathing rite of his son. He kept saying, “I myself bathed my son’s body. How painful that was!”

Some of Nafiz’s friends were present at the time of speaking to Golam Rahman. They were with Nafiz at the scene of the incident on 4 August. They said, when the firing started they all were able to return to their homes except for Nafiz.

With a notebook and a pen in his hands, Golam Rahman was asking his son’s friends to retrace the string of events from that day, going by the clock. He said that he’s actually trying to figure out from the chart, if he could have tried to save his son. This father now want’s justice for his son’s death. Since his son gave his life for the country, he wants his son to be recognised as a national hero.

Nafiz’s mother Nazma Akhter lamented that her son would no longer hug her from the behind and broke into tears instantly. In a tear-choked voice she said that everyone in their family knew that Nafiz was joining the movement at different locations with his friends. But, as the situation was volatile she had prohibited her son from going out on 4 August. When she saw that her son was determined about going, she had just asked him to be careful.

Getting hold of herself Nazma Akhter said, “I also wanted the students to succeed in their movement. I used to pray that not another mother should lose their child. My son had a lot of photos from the movement saved on his phone. When I asked him to delete those photos thinking of his safety, my son even stopped talking to me. He has left me for the country. I don’t care about Awami League or BNP, I just want there to be peace in the country.”

Photo journalist Jibon Ahmed also spoke to us. He said, he regrets thinking that the boy might have lived if he could have just taken him to the hospital. However he tries finding consolation in the fact that the parents have found their son’s body looking at the photo he clicked. He also stated that he couldn’t take Nafiz to the hospital at Farmgate in the face of Awami League leaders’ obstruction.

The photo taken by Jibon Ahmed displayed a cell phone number on the back of the rickshaw. And, Nafiz’s family members found out rickshaw puller Nur Mohammad from calling on that number.

Rickshaw puller Nur Mohammad told Prothom Alo that the rickshaw is his own. He was caught in the middle of the ‘commotion’ at Farmgate that day.

When a police member called him over several other police personnel lifted a boy on his rickshaw. At first when he tried taking Nafiz to a hospital at Farmgate, he was obstructed from going inside. Later when he reached Khamarbari area, some people saying that Nafiz needs to be hospitalised fast left with him taking a CNG-run auto rickshaw.

Nafiz was laid to rest in a graveyard at capital’s Uttarkhan area on 5 August. Apart from taking part in various cultural functions at his school since childhood, he was actively engaged in scout and BNCC programmes.

Nafiz had also participated in the reception of students achieving GPA-5 organised by Shikho and Prothom Alo. Nafiz’s parents were caressing the crest and certificate he got from there, his favourite wrist watch and other items owned by their son.

A teacher at Banana Bidyaniketan School and College, Masum Billah said that the school authorities have proposed to name the auditorium of the school after Nafiz.

Nafiz’s elder brother Golam Russel said, “The youngsters of the TikTok generation have moved this movement forward and have given their lives for this. We want see a country just like the one they had imagined.”

*This report appeared in the print and online versions of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Nourin Ahmed Monisha.