Sainik (Gunner) Tasnim Rifat, a 28-year-old Bangladesh Army soldier killed in a tank firing exercise accident in Chattogram, was laid to rest with full military honours at his family graveyard in Rajshahi on Thursday.
According to sources from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the fatal accident occurred on Wednesday during a field firing exercise at the Hathazari Field Firing Range in Chattogram. Whilst firing shells from a tank, an unexpected accident resulted in the death of two Bangladesh Army soldiers and left one officer critically injured.
The injured officer was airlifted via helicopter to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Dhaka for advanced medical treatment, whilst an investigation to determine the cause of the accident remains ongoing.
Gunner Tasnim Rifat served in the 15 Independent Armoured Squadron of the Armoured Corps based at Chattogram Cantonment. On Thursday morning, his body was transported to Rajshahi Cantonment aboard a special Bangladesh Army helicopter before being taken by road to his ancestral home in Bindarampur village under Damkura Union of Paba Upazila, Rajshahi.
Following the Zuhr prayers on Thursday, his funeral prayer (Janaza) was conducted in the presence of senior army officials, family members, and a large gathering of local villagers.
In accordance with the family’s decision, Gunner Rifat was interred with military honours beside the grave of his mother, who had passed away from cancer a few years prior.
Rifat leaves behind his wife, his two-and-a-half-year-old daughter Zui, his father Asadul Islam, a retired government employee, and three siblings. He was the second of four brothers and sisters; his elder brother is AB Mahmud Dipto and his younger brother is Shamsad Ahmed Vishal.
Prior to the incident, Rifat resided with his wife and infant daughter in official government quarters at Chattogram Cantonment. His father, Asadul Islam, stated that Rifat had last visited his village home during the previous Eid-ul-Adha holiday and had maintained regular telephone contact with the family.
The sudden demise of the young soldier while on duty has cast a deep pall of gloom over his family and the village of Bindarampur, leaving his toddler daughter unaware of her father’s passing.
