On a tense Thursday afternoon, July 18, 2024, the streets of Narsingdi turned chaotic as police clashed with protesters demanding reforms to the quota system. Amid the turmoil, 15-year-old Tahmid Bhuiyan Tamim—a class nine student who had stepped out of his home out of curiosity—was fatally struck by a rubber bullet.
What began as a typical day for his family ended in heartbreak, as Tahmid became an unexpected and tragic victim of the unrest.
According to eyewitnesses and hospital sources, police fired rubber bullets while chasing protesters, during which Tahmid was shot and died on the spot. Protesters later brought his body on a stretcher from the Narsingdi 100-bed District Hospital and continued their demonstration near the Shaheed Minar. Witnesses claim police opened fire again at that location, hitting Tahmid’s body for a second time.
Tahmid’s father, Rafiqul Islam Bhuiyan, who was present about 100 yards from the scene, confirmed to reporters that he saw his son’s body being struck again. Other injured protesters who sought treatment at the hospital corroborated the account.
Tahmid, a student of Nasima Kadir Molla High School and Homes, was the eldest of three siblings. His father is a local village physician and his mother a housewife. The family resides in Nandipara village under Chinishpur union, about 300 yards from the protest site.
According to family members, Tahmid had gone out in the afternoon after lunch while playing on a mobile phone with his younger sister. A neighbor reported asking him where he was going, to which he replied he was going to see what was happening at Jailkhana Mor.
Soon after, Tahmid was caught in the midst of the protest and was shot. Protesters rushed him to the nearby hospital where doctors declared him dead. Hospital superintendent ANM Mizanur Rahman stated that students became agitated after the death and vandalized hospital property, preventing the body from being sent for autopsy.
After retrieving the body, protesters continued their demonstration. Tahmid’s father arrived at the protest site and witnessed his son’s body being hit by another bullet. With the help of protesters, he brought the body back home once the situation calmed.
Tahmid was buried that night at the Chinishpur graveyard after two janazas—one at his school and another at the local Eidgah. The family declined to allow an autopsy. “Police shot my son dead in front of everyone. What good will an autopsy do?” said Rafiqul Islam Bhuiyan.
Locals expressed deep sorrow over the incident, stating that Tahmid did not go to the protest intentionally but may have ended up there out of curiosity.