It has been a year since 16-year-old Faizul Islam Rajan was shot and killed during a student protest against discrimination — but the pain in his family’s hearts has never faded.
Rajan, a bright and hopeful student of class 11 at Dhaka Model Degree College, was killed on July 19, 2024, near Mirpur-10. A bullet struck his chest during the demonstration, and he died instantly, leaving his loved ones shattered. His mother, Mahmuda, still holds the bloodstained T-shirt he wore that day — clutching it close, as if it might bring him back.
“My son had dreams,” she says through tears. “He wanted to finish his studies and support our family. His father left us nine years ago, and I raised my children alone. My eldest son had to quit school to work, but I hoped Rajan would succeed. Now, all those hopes are gone.”
The family lives in Uttar Baher Char, Keraniganj, having moved closer to Dhaka from their ancestral home in Chandpur’s Matlab upazila, chasing a better future. Rajan was the youngest of three siblings; his older brother Rajib works in a garment factory in Savar.
On the day he died, Rajan called his mother around noon. “I asked if he was at the protest. He said no. I told him, ‘We are poor. If something happens to you, who will take care of us?’” Mahmuda recalls. But minutes later, she received another call. “Ma, forgive me,” Rajan said — the last words she ever heard from him.
At 3 pm, an unknown woman called to say Rajan had been shot. Mahmuda’s daughter and son-in-law rushed to Azmal Hospital, where they found Rajan’s lifeless body. The next day, he was buried in Tararnagar’s central graveyard.
Rajib still shudders when he recalls washing his brother’s bullet-riddled body. “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I couldn’t cry. I just washed him with my own hands,” he says.
Rajan had worked at a local shop to help support his family and fund his education. Though his means were limited, his dreams were big.
According to Rajib, Rajan had joined a peaceful protest near Mirpur-10 when police opened fire. A bullet hit him in the chest. His friends rushed him to the hospital, but doctors declared him dead on arrival.
On August 16, Rajib filed a case at Mirpur Model Police Station, naming 24 individuals as accused — including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, and former Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader.
“I want justice,” Rajib says firmly. “I want those who killed my brother to be punished with capital punishment.”
His mother’s voice breaks as she repeats his demand: “Those who took my son’s life must be held accountable. I want justice for Rajan.”