On the morning of August 5, Dhaka was in turmoil due to student protests. Protesting students were marching in Badda in the capital. Kazi Faruk participated in it. Police fired rubber bullets and pellet guns to disperse the march. The march dispersed. Kazi Faruk (40) was injured by rubber bullets and pellet guns. Both his eyes went dark.
Numerous bullet wounds to his head, face, and eyes left his body scarred. He immediately lost consciousness. When he regained consciousness four or five days later, Farooq was writhing in excruciating pain. He spent nearly three months in a hospital bed undergoing treatment.
Kazi Faruk's father died two months before his birth. His mother died when he was 15. The youngest of five siblings, Faruk is a resident of Narayanganj. Since he had no wife or children, he lived in a bachelor's mess in West Merul Badda, Dhaka. He worked at a club there for a small salary. Since the beginning of the anti-discrimination movement, Faruk has been vocal in achieving his demands by standing shoulder to shoulder with the students and the public. After receiving treatment in the hospital for a long time, he is receiving the remaining treatment at his elder brother's house in Sanarpar, Narayanganj.
Kazi Faruk narrated the story of that day in a tearful voice. He said, "I participated in the movement from the beginning by supporting the reasonable demands of the students and the public. In continuation of this, I was heading towards Shahbagh to participate in the movement on August 5. From the Badda police station opposite Merul Badda BRAC University, shots were being fired at the students and the public. Seeing this, I went towards the police station and said to the police members, "Why are you shooting?"
Then they said, if you don't shoot, they will kill us. Then I told them, you don't shoot, no one will tell you anything. They also said, okay, we won't shoot anymore. Then I took 10-12 steps forward and was telling the students and the crowd that the police have said they won't shoot anymore. While I was saying this, an elderly policeman from my left side fired pellets at me.
I was hit in the head and eyes by numerous bullets. When I fell to the ground, the students and the crowd carried me away. There are still more than a hundred bullets in my head, and the doctors said it was impossible to remove them.
The doctor said, my left eye is completely gone, it will have to be thrown away. I can see light in my right eye, I had an operation a few days ago at a cost of about 86 thousand taka; but I did not get any benefit. I will have to have another operation after three months, if that operation is successful, maybe I will be able to see again in my right eye.
He said that he is undergoing treatment at Dhanmondi's Harun Eye Foundation Hospital under the supervision of Professor Dr. Md. Kamrul Hasan and said, "I take medicine every day, if I don't take medicine for a day, I go crazy." Farooq also said that he will never forget the face of the policeman who shot him.
Farooq said that he has already received a grant of 1.5 lakh taka from the July Foundation for treatment. The foundation has promised to provide another 1.5 lakh taka. However, he said that despite visiting the July Foundation several times, he is not getting the money to cover the treatment expenses.
Before being injured, he was renting a mess as a bachelor in West Merul Badda, but since being injured, he has been receiving treatment at his elder brother's house in Sanarpar, Narayanganj.
Faruk's elder sister said, "My younger brother has been undergoing treatment for six long months after being shot in the eye and head. Our brother is suffering from excruciating pain every day. The doctor said that the light in his right eye may return. Faruk is counting the days in that hope, and we are counting the days too."
Leaders of the Narayanganj Anti-Discrimination Student Movement said, "We have tried to give the most importance to those who were injured in the movement. Along with government assistance, they pledged to stand by the injured on behalf of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement."
Narayanganj Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Zahidul Islam Miah said, "A list of the injured and deceased has been sent to Dhaka. We are trying to get government assistance for them."
Published: dailyamardesh
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