Mother faints on hearing sons are ill, unaware all 4 have died

Throughout the day, men and women of all ages, including relatives, stood outside the boundary wall of the two-storey house. They remained outside offering condolences, but no one was allowed inside. The reason is that Khadija Begum, the mother of the four expatriate brothers, still does not know that none of her sons are alive anymore.

She only knows that they are ill. Hearing that alone caused her to collapse into bed. Fearing that she would not be able to bear the news of their deaths, her only surviving son, Mohammad Enam, 32, locked the gate of the house.

On Wednesday night, shortly before the accident, the eldest brother Muhammad Rashed called his mother from Oman and asked for her prayers. At the time, Rashed and his three brothers were travelling by car to a hospital.

Rashed told his mother that they were struggling to breathe inside the vehicle and were heading to hospital. Ten minutes after the call, all four brothers’ mobile phones became unreachable. About half an hour later, their bodies were recovered from inside the car outside a hospital in Oman’s Muladda area.

The four deceased brothers were Muhammad Rashed, 40, Muhammad Sahed, 35, Muhammad Siraj, 28, and Muhammad Shahid, 24. Their home is in Bandarabazar Para of Lalanagar Union in Rangunia, Chattogram.

A sombre atmosphere was found in the area while visiting on Thursday. Conversations everywhere centred on the tragic deaths of the four brothers. Many relatives were waiting outside the house. They said the brothers’ mother had still not been informed of their deaths. She is repeatedly losing consciousness even upon hearing that they had fallen ill.

Relatives said that 10 to 12 years ago, Muhammad Rashed, the eldest son of farmer Abdul Majid, travelled to Oman after borrowing heavily in hopes of improving the fortunes of the struggling family. He first worked as a labourer there before obtaining a driving licence and eventually becoming a chauffeur for a local sheikh.

Later, he brought his three younger brothers to Oman one after another and arranged the same type of work for them. The family’s financial condition improved, and they built a two-storey concrete house in the village. Of the five brothers, three were unmarried, while two were married with families. Another brother, Muhammad Enam, lives at the family home in the village.

Relatives said that the two unmarried brothers, Muhammad Siraj and Shahid, had been planning to return home to get married. They had already booked airline tickets and were scheduled to fly on Friday. The four brothers had gone shopping together in a car. On their way back from the market, they died from poisoning inside the vehicle. It is suspected that toxic gas leaking inside the car caused their deaths.

Imran Hossain, a cousin of the deceased brothers, said they were not allowing anyone into the house. Their aunt was not yet in a condition to be told the news. She would be informed once her health improved somewhat. Rashed’s wife Kulsuma Akter and Sahed’s wife Shanta Akter also fell ill after hearing the news. Muhammad Enam is overseeing their treatment and care.

A relative named Rahima Begum said the five brothers lost their father Abdul Majid at a very young age. Their mother raised them through immense hardship. “How can a mother accept losing four sons together like this?” she said.

Amir Hossain, member of Ward No. 5 of Lalanagar Union Parishad, told Prothom Alo that the entire area was mourning the deaths of the four brothers. Efforts were underway to bring their bodies back to Bangladesh.

Rangunia Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Nazmul Hasan told Prothom Alo that after learning of the incident, they had wanted to visit the house, but refrained after the family objected out of concern for the mother’s condition. However, the upazila administration is assisting in the process of bringing the bodies back home.