Probe scholar student Abu Sayeed’s death in Rangpur firing

Scholar student Abu Sayeed who was shot down by police in Rangpur on Tuesday 16 July 2024.

The death of scholar student Abu Sayeed in police firing in Rangpur on Tuesday merits a proper inquiry to see if any wrongs were committed in shooting down the boy who, witnesses said and video of the shooting which went viral in the social media showed, posed no threat.

The video footage shows Abu Sayeed an honours level student of the Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur did not do any life threatening activity nor attempted to damage property of the state or of private persons to call for the shootings – as many as four that pierced his chest – according to his sister who wailed uncontrollably after the sad death of the leading sibling of the family.

Abu Sayeed’s teen-aged sister said as she wailed that her brother secured primary, junior secondary as well as secondary scholarships as he made his way to the university bent on the aim of becoming well-established in life. She recollected her brother saying BCS is a process of facing examinations to have a good government job. He was in movement to secure the right to get appointed to such a job.

She wailed and said why the authorities gave the order to kill her brother. They could have injured him if he had done anything wrong, but why the killing? What crime her brother had committed? This video has been aired by the Jamuna Television.

The other video on the shooting on Abu Sayeed showed Abu Sayeed was nowhere near posing any threat to the policemen on duty on the street. The policemen in question had taken position at one street corner while Abu Sayeed was at the median of the road. A well-built Abu Sayeed had tremendous confidence in himself and spread his hands showing the police his chest if they wanted to hit him. And the policemen did not allow the opportunity to pass by and fired shots one after another.

Clearly the policemen on duty there were more instinctive than guided by reason as they fired shot at the man who had dreamt of a bright career in his life

As the shots were fired, Abu Sayeed tried to escape being hit. Some shots hit the artificially made canopies of debdaru plants standing behind him on the street median as mute witnesses. The firings continued. As they hit he touched his chest with his right hand. When he felt it became unbearable he crossed to other side of the median and sat down on his feet on the road.

His movement showed he was in a bad shape and one of the demonstrators came to take him away Abu Sayeed walked about a dozen steps along with the fellow student and suddenly fell to the ground never to be on his own again. Several students carried him by his legs and hands and took him to the hospital where he was declared dead.

The questions that arise from his death are many. Did Police fire in self defence? Anyone who has seen the video will tell an emphatic ‘no’. Was it a case of arson that police had to stop. The answer again is ‘no’. Did Abu Sayeed’s offering his chest by spreading his arms to hit make the cops stationed there to consider the young man to be much audacious to be punished? If this third question leads to an affirmative answer, one is bound to ask, were the cops deployed there with fire arms properly trained to do their jobs? Mere showing one’s chest to be hit, if anyone can, should not cause one to lose one’s cool and get angry to the extent of opening fire to end the life of a promising young man. This is because he was only demanding reforms in the job quota system, and nothing else, to get a fairer chance for himself. This cannot constitute a crime. Another thing to see in this case is whether the firing was ordered by a magistrate.

The upper echelon of the police administration as well as the general administration should look into this case with utmost seriousness. Even five years ago a class-I magistrate was heard telling how difficult it was get cops shoot at a rowdy crowd when things had gone out of control at one social event in a rural area. The cops deployed there showed various pleas like they did not have bullets, or the bullets were not working, and refrained from firing shots at the crowd. The magistrate had only one option left, asking members of Ansar to open fire. And this worked with the utterance of just one order.

Has the quality of police training gone down now? It it is so, Abu Sayeed’s death in point-blank firing should ring as the loudest alarm bell to mend the ways.

Abu Sayeed honestly believed he was doing the right thing in joining job quota protests. His Facebook status given as late as July 15, the day before his death, said if he dies in the movement his frozen body should be left on the street. As the student community wins they will bury him as a victor. This was because his parents will not welcome the body of a loser. One of his friends posted this on the Facebook immediately after his death on July 16. But his family stands totally devastated at the loss of their most promising member.