2004 grenade attack: Misery defines lives of Madaripur victims

Thirteen years ago, attackers targeted an Awami League rally in an attempt to assassinate then the opposition chief Sheikh Hasina.

Madaripur CorrespondentRiponchandra Mallik, bdnews24.com
Published : 21 August 2017, 02:51 PM
Updated : 21 August 2017, 02:51 PM

Twenty-four people including top leaders were killed in the grenade attack which left several hundreds injured at Dhaka’s Bangabandhu Avenue.

The bulk of the victims were party supporters who had travelled to the capital to hear their party chief Hasina, who narrowly escaped with her life.

Four of the deceased were from Madaripur. Another five from the district were maimed by grenade splinters. They talked about neglect at a time when the Awami League is governing the country.

Liton Munshi was a leader of the Jubo League, Awami League’s youth front, from Chanpatti village of Rajoir Upazila’s Hosenpur Union.

He had gone to Dhaka to take part in the rally, make arrangements for treating his mother’s illness and also to buy a dress for his daughter’s first birthday.

Munshi died in the attack. His daughter Mithila turns 14 next month.

“He said, ‘Just wait 10 days mother. I’ll make arrangements for treating your stomach pain’. He died on the ninth day,” recalled his mother Asia Khatun.

Nasiruddin was leader of the Sramik League,  the Awami League’s labour wing, from Rampol village of Kalkini Upazila’s Koyaria Union.

A passionate and long-time party activist, Nasir earned a living by driving rickshaws and occasionally manning stores owned by others.

He lived in Dhaka and was once elected president of the Sramik League’s unit in Hazaribagh. He would take lead of processions and almost never sit out a party programme.

In the end he died taking part in a rally for his party. But very few have remembered to find out if his elderly parents, wife and children are alright.

Mostak Ahammed Sentu was a Jubo League leader from the Kalkini Upazila’s Krokirchor village. “His death has made us into destitutes. We have been barely living,” said his wife Irin Parvin. 

Sufia Begum was from Mahishmari village of Rajoir Upazila’s Kadambari Union.

She was among the party’s woman leaders who were sitting on the rally’s first row when the grenades hit. Described as a spirited woman, she lived in Dhaka with her family.

Meanwhile, four Madaripur men narrated how they have tried to carry on despite the grenades’ shrapnel still in their bodies.

Halan Howlader, from Kalkini’s Bibhagadi village, suffered irreparable damage to one of his legs. He roams the streets of Dhaka selling chicken.

His wife mostly stays with her father because Howlader cannot always fend for her and their 5-year-old son. His mother Monwara Begum has been living without support.

“I had gone there to hear our leader Sheikh Hasina. Now there are at least a hundred splinters all over my body. It’s impossible to live like this. I’d prefer to die than live like this.”

Saidul Haque Sardar of Kalkini’s Jhautola village tried his luck as a migrant worker in Malaysia after selling his land to pay for the trip there.

But his body continued to ache and Sardar eventually had to return. “I tried hard to get a job. I went to many party leaders, but still failed.”

Kabir Hossain, of Kalkini’s Krishnanagar village, was also maimed in the attack. He lives in one of Dhaka’s slums and works as a day labourer with his mangled right hand.

Pran Krishna of Chilachar Union’s Pashchim Roghurampur lost an eye in the attack. He now relies on his wife, who earns a living by selling cooking fuel made from cow dung.