Ashikur Rahman was not involved in the July unrest. He was lying in a hospital bed suffering from a brain infection. Yet he was declared a ‘July martyr,’ his family received 3 million taka in compensation, and three journalists were accused in a murder case filed in his name.
The discharge certificate from Rangpur Medical College Hospital clearly stated sepsis and brain infection. There was no mention of any head injury. But in the death certificate issued later by Bangladesh Medical University, a new line suddenly appeared: ‘alleged head injury during student protest.’ Even MRI scans showed no signs of injury, and the medical board found nothing either. Still, it was written into the report.
After two days of avoiding questions, Dr. Montosh Kumar Mondol, who signed the death certificate, finally admitted: ‘The boy actually died from septic shock. We found no head injury.’ Then why was it written? His response: ‘You understand the situation at that time.’
Local coordinators say Ashik was not even in Kurigram that day, and CCTV footage does not show him there either. Neighbors say he had been suffering from a brain tumor for four years. His uncle had also written on Facebook that his ‘nephew, who had long been ill from a brain stroke,’ had passed away.
[The doctor himself admitted he wrote false information, yet three journalists still face murder charges!]
Based on this alleged falsehood, a murder case was filed naming three journalists from Kurigram as accused. Veteran journalist Abdul Khalek Faruk, with forty years of experience, said, ‘I have never faced such a humiliating situation in my life.’
A fake death certificate, a fabricated case, and the opportunistic silence of an entire family. Together, these have created something far bigger than just the story of Ashikur. As one former BMU official put it, ‘There may be many more cases like this.’”
Source: Kaler Kantho
