A bullet ended the dreams of Hridoy, his family

“Hridoy was our only hope. Now it is all gone,” his father says

“My son went and joined the protest movement. He died there. He was our only hope. Now, whoever rules the country, please take care of us,” said Ratan Chandra Tarua, the father of Hridoy Chandra Tarua from Patuakhali’s Mirjaganj.

Hridoy was shot on Jul 18 during the Anti-discrimination Student Movement protests and was admitted to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital in critical condition. He died at 5:30am on Jul 23 after six days in hospital care. His last rites were performed at his village home in Ghatoker Andua in Mirjaganj Upazila.

A third-year student at the Department of History at Chittagong University, Hridoy was like any young man of his age – full of dreams. A bullet was enough to shatter all the 22-year-old had dreamt of. He will never again return to his parents and rejoice with his classmates.

Hridoy’s parents are poor. They say their son was the only ray of hope for their future. Now they cling to their memories while looking at an uncertain path ahead. They have shed so many tears that they have dried out.

“Hridoy was the only hope for our family. Now it is all gone. No one will be able to bring my son back to me. But I want justice for all the parents who lost their children during the quota reform movement,” said Ratan, a carpenter.

Archana Rani Tarua, Hridoy’s mother, works as a domestic aide. The couple have a daughter too. They moved to a rented house in Munsefpara in the city from their village home a decade ago in hopes of better education for their children.

Ratan and Archana began work and managed to support the family with their income. As there was a financial crunch, their daughter Mitu rani was married off after she passed her HSC exams. Only their son Hridoy continued his studies, hoping to take on the responsibility of his family.

Locals said that Hridoy passed his SSC exams from the Patuakhali Govt High School in 2018 with a GPA-5 and HSC in 2020 from Patuakhali Govt College with the same GPA. He was then admitted to Chittagong University. As he was intelligent, eager to study and produced good results, his parents dreamt of a shining future. The family hoped that Hridoy would finish his studies and get a good job, ending the poverty and financial struggle of the family. But a bullet struck him down.

“Hridoy always thought about how to end our troubles, our poverty. His goal was to finish his studies and get a good job to provide for his parents. My son asked me to struggle for three more years and then he would take over. He said he would take us to Dhaka to live,” Archaa said.

“I told him, ‘My son, it takes a lot of money to get a job. Where will we get that money?’ In reply, my son said, "Mother, do you think I study in a way that I’ll need to pay money to get a job?”

“I never thought God would take away my son like this. The current government should look after those mothers like me who have lost our children,” sighed Archana Rani.

Mitu Rani, Hridoy’s only sister, was shedding tears while her parents spoke. “My brother is gone, I can’t get him back. He had many dreams. But dreams don’t always come true,” she said.

“I demand those who killed my brother be brought to a proper legal trial.”

“Hridoy joined the protest march after attending a tuition class. When gunshots were fired at the march, the protesters fled in the other direction. Hridoy was caught in the rear of the march. A bullet hit him from behind and then came out the front of his body,” said Hridoy’s classmate Tasmia Hasan, a student at Chittagong University.