A year after Akash was born, his father, Matiur Rahman, left us and remarried. That marked the beginning of my long and difficult journey raising Akash alone.
I struggled to raise him through countless hardships. There were days when we had to go hungry. I dreamed big for my son—dreams that now lie shattered. Wherever I look, all I see is darkness. What is there left for me to live for? How will I face the days ahead?
Sitting in her rented home in Ward-5, Mirpur Pallabi, Bobby Akhter, 45, the mother of Shaheed Emon Hasan Akash—who was tragically martyred during police firing in the anti-discrimination student movement on August 4, 2024—shared her heart-wrenching story.
“I worked as a domestic helper in other people’s homes. Akash was my only child. I had so many hopes for him, but everything ended in an instant. Now all I see is darkness,” she said through tears.
Emon Hasan Akash, 22, lived with his mother in Mirpur, Dhaka. To support their family, he worked at a courier service. But due to financial hardship, he was unable to continue his studies after passing the SSC exam in their village, Madbarkandi in Sakhipur upazila, Shariatpur district.
On the evening of August 4, 2024, while participating in the student-public uprising against discrimination, Akash was shot in Mirpur-10. The bullet entered the right side of his head and exited through the left. He was declared dead at Dr. Azmal Hospital Ltd. The following morning, August 5, he was laid to rest in his village graveyard.
“My son Akash is no longer here. He has left me forever. My heart is empty. Whenever I think of him, I break down crying. It has been ten months since he last called me ‘Maa’,” Bobby Akhter said, her voice trembling.
“Without Akash, neither day nor night passes peacefully. I live with unbearable pain. Every evening, I still imagine him coming home and saying, ‘Maa, please cook biryani for me.’ I used to scold him for loving biryani so much,” she recalled.
Now, those memories only break my heart. Why did Allah take everything from me? she wondered aloud, tears streaming down.
“I raised Akash with great difficulty. Even though we were poor, I never let him feel the pain. I worked tirelessly, moving from one house to another. He would never tell me if he was hurt because he didn’t want me to worry.”
“They shot and killed my beloved son. He was so gentle and well-mannered,” she said.
Bobby added, “His father worked in a garment factory but left to marry another woman. Only I and Allah know how hard it was to raise a one-year-old child alone.”
“My dream was to see him married, bringing his bride home. But that dream has died with him.”
Describing the day of the tragedy, she said, “His friends were messaging him. I asked where he was going. Akash said he was going to the court. I told him he was my only son, and if anything happened to him, I’d be left alone.”
During the movement, Akash helped protesters by giving water and taking injured people to hospitals.
“We live in Mirpur-11. That day, he first went to the ECB premises and then to Mirpur-10. Later, I called and he told me not to worry and said he was coming home.”
“I told him to come home for lunch, and he asked me to keep the rice ready. He said he’d eat outside with his friends and told me to eat and rest,” she said.
“I fell asleep and woke up around 5:30 pm. I called again but he didn’t answer. Then around 6:30 pm, one of his friends called and said, ‘Oh my Allah, Akash is dead.’ I started crying uncontrollably.”
“I called my brother and told him Akash might have died. He found out that after Akash was shot, his friends took him to the hospital where he was declared dead.”
“I went to the hospital, brought his body home, and then took him to my father’s house in Shariatpur to bury him,” she said, overwhelmed with grief.
Now, Bobby suffers from diabetes, heart problems, and high blood pressure. “I cannot work properly anymore. My monthly medicine costs are about Tk 5,000. I used to cook and serve people. Our rent was 15,000 taka a month—Akash used to earn that much, and we managed somehow.”
“All I want is for my son—who gave his life for the country—to be honored as a martyr. I want justice. I want the death penalty for those who killed my innocent son.”
Following the tragedy, Bobby Akhter filed a murder case naming 637 people, including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, at Pallabi Police Station on August 27, 2024.
