Ctg victims writhing in agony in hospital beds

A 14-year-old boy, Mominul Islam, joined the crowd on the streets calling for the ousted government’s resignation.

On Monday around 10:30pm, he was injured when the police opened fire near the Passport Office in Mansurabad, Chattogram. Mominul, shot in both legs, is now writhing in pain in the Casualty Department of Chattogram Medical College Hospital (CMCH).

His mother, Mohsena Begum, told The Business Standard, “My son went out to see what was happening. He got caught in the chaos and was shot by the police.” Their home is in Mansurabad Eidgah.

Like Mominul, around three hundred people received treatment at CMCH for injuries sustained in Monday’s violence. Among the injured, three people died. Two of the deceased have been identified as 54-year-old Md Jamal Uddin and Md Nizam Uddin. Another victim was taken away by relatives without registering his name.

On Monday afternoon, around 3:30pm, CNG driver Md Selim (45) also joined the festivities in the city’s Chandgaon area. Describing the incident to this newspaper, he said, “Around 3pm, thousands of people marched in front of the police station. I was there too. The police apologised, and the crowd calmed down. But a few minutes later, another group joined, and the police station was attacked, prompting the police to open fire. I was injured and lost consciousness. A friend brought me to the hospital. Now, I cannot walk.”

Furniture store employee Nazrul Islam (26) was also out on the streets during the attack in Patenga. He suffered a spinal injury and is now paralysed from the waist down. His wife, Meghla Akter, told TBS, “My husband went out in the afternoon and got injured.”

In the Casualty Department, siblings Wakijul Islam and Sabrina Afrin, who were injured in the student movement, are also receiving treatment. Wakijul, an Alim (HSC equivalent) student, was shot in the stomach, while his sister Sabrina, a degree student at Chattogram’s Mohsin College, was hit in both legs by pellets. They were injured at Tigerpass on Saturday.

Their father, Mohammad Yusuf, said, “My son had a blood clot near his stomach that required surgery. My daughter’s legs were X-rayed.”

Speaking to TBS, CMCH Director Brigadier General Mohammed said, “Since Monday afternoon, people injured by gunfire have been arriving at the hospital. Over three hundred injured people have come. We have confirmed two deaths.”

However, Emergency Department sources said that one deceased person was brought to the hospital. When doctors confirmed the death, the body was taken away.

Dr SM Dostagir Chowdhury, coordinator of the World Health Organisation in Chattogram, told TBS that 274 people had been admitted to the CMCH in the past two days amid the student movement.