Md Monu Mia, the selfless man who dug graves for over 3,000 people without ever accepting payment, has passed away. He breathed his last at his home in Algapara village of Joysiddhi Union under Itna upazila in Kishoreganj on Saturday (June 28) at 10:00am. He was 67.
Joyasiddhi Union Parishad panel chairman Md Bahuddin Thakur confirmed the news of his passing.
His death cast a pall of sorrow across the region, where he was affectionately known as the “Craftsman of the Final Resting Place.”
For nearly 49 years, Monu Mia dedicated himself to grave digging as an act of service, never asking for money in return. Known far beyond his village, he had become a symbol of compassion and humility throughout the district.
Often seen riding his beloved horse to reach the homes of the deceased, Monu once sold his shop just to buy the horse that became his trusted companion in this sacred task.
Advocate Sheikh Mohammad Rokon Reza, a Dhaka-based lawyer and native of the area, said Monu had recently been hospitalized due to illness. During his hospital stay, miscreants killed his cherished horse, a loss that left him deeply broken both emotionally and physically.
“When I visited him in the hospital, I told him that many people wanted to buy him a new horse,” said Reza. “But Monu replied, ‘I do this only to please Allah. I don’t want to take anything from anyone.’”
Chairman Bahuddin Thakur said Monu’s condition worsened after the loss of his horse. Though he returned home after treatment, he never fully recovered. “With his passing, we have lost a man of great kindness and selflessness. He is truly irreplaceable,” he said.
Local residents remember him not just as a gravedigger, but as a beacon of humanity. Even in death, they say, Monu Mia will live on in the prayers and respect of the countless lives he touched.