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Khaled Mahmud Sujon, a 12th grade student, said that he had been seeing death closely when he had sustained bullets in his body.

‘I felt like I became paralysed and lost consciousness. Then I recited the Kalima (Islamic prayers) as I was thinking myself on the verge of death,’ he said. 

‘Later, I discovered myself at Sadar Hospital with multiple bullets in my body while blood continued to flow from the wounds,’ added Sujon, who took part in the movement like other agitators under the banner of the anti-discrimination student movement in the New Market area of Lakshmipur Sadar on August 4.

Despite receiving treatment for 43 days, the left side of Sujon’s body is still paralysed as he is carrying seven shrapnel shells—two in the chest, one under the left ear, three in the right hand and one in the shoulder.

Sujon unfortunately has to carry the shells inside his body as per doctor’s suggestions, since removing the shells can cause some serious physical issues, including nerve injury, brain injury, being fully paralysed or even death. 

Sujon, who is now undergoing treatment at Combine Medical Hospital in Dhaka, recalled the day. ‘Seeing the announcement of the movement on social media, I joined my fellow students at about 11:00am at the Lakshmipur bus station area. After zuhr prayers, we moved to the Bazar area where students came under attack by Awami League cadres.’

‘After facing indiscriminate firing by AL cadres for two hours, students managed to chase them once. Amid the students’ chasing, the AL leaders took position on the rooftop of upazila chairman Salahuddin Tipu’s five-storey building and started firing students indiscriminately,’ Sujon added.

‘We took position on a bridge near the building. Suddenly they started shooting from multiple directions. Before understanding anything, I got hit by a bullet in my chest at about 4:30pm and fell on the street,’ Sujon recollected the memories of that day. 

Sujon was immediately taken to Lakshmipur Sadar Hospital with the help of local people, said his cousin Mehedi, adding that as the doctor refused to admit Sujon to the hospital, they had taken him to a private hospital in Noakhali.

Sujon was then refereed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital on the night as his condition deteriorated.

Out of nine, the only live bullet was removed from Sujon’s liver area on August 5 at DMCH, while a shrapnel shell was removed from his left hand on August 24 at CMH, added Mehedi.

Mehedi told that Sujon used to run a shop where plastic goods of RFL brand were sold.

‘But now the shop remains closed, much to make the lives of his family members miserable.’

Sujon was the second child among three. His father and elder brother were especially able, which made him the only earning member of the family.

With the help of relatives and Sujon’s earnings, the entire family managed to spend their lives and livelihood anyway.

So far, around Tk 1.5 lakh has been spent on the treatment of Sujon. He gets depressed thinking about the future of him and his family.

‘I want to get back to normal life  . . . I want to be self-dependent again and stand beside my family. I don’t know what will happen to my family living at Char Rohita village under Rasulganj in Lakshmipur,’ Sujon added.