Aklima Begum has plunged in a plight since her husband Akhter Hossain died after being shot in clashes on July 19 that broke out over student protests.
The death of her husband, an auto-rickshaw driver, has left her with two children to care for on her own.
Akhter, 35 years old, joined the protests at Tinrastar Mor in the Beribadh area at Mohammadpur in Dhaka.
A policeman stood on his throat and shot him twice in the abdomen in the afternoon. She later heard it from a witness.
Akther, caught in a chase between the protesters and law enforcers, fell on the聽 ground, she was told. The police beat him severely before shooting him.
The body was found in a pile of rubbish at Lautala Mor. Several protesters took the body home at Sona Miar Tek in the Chad Udyan area at Mohammadpur two hours later.
鈥楾he local Basila graveyard was locked up to stop any burial there,鈥� Aklima said. She hired an ambulance for Tk 35,000 to take the body to their hometown in Bhola. Akhter was buried on July 20. She borrowed Tk 40,000 from neighbours that she is yet to repay.
The student protests which began on July 1 demanding reforms in civil service job reservations, later flared up into a mass uprising, toppling the Awami League government on August 5.聽
Her 13-year-old daughter and seven-year-old son now live with their 60-year-old grandmother on the mother鈥檚 side in Bhola.
Aklima, a household services worker, has moved in with her younger sister at Mohammadpur because she could no longer afford to pay for a room.
鈥楢fter my husband had died, I had to visit Bhola several times and I lost my job. I am now jobless,鈥� Aklima said. She has not received any financial help.
A murder case was filed with Mohammadpur police in July. Aklima said that someone who introduced himself as a friend of Akhter鈥檚 took her to the police station to file the case.
鈥業 don鈥檛 have any case documents. I have never visited the police station again. Many named accused in the case have called me, asking to know why I included their names. I don鈥檛 know them,鈥� she said.
Aklima, struggling to survive with her children, said that what was happening after the filing of the case only added to her plight.
The Directorate General of Health Services on September 24 said that it had listed 708 people having died in the protests and uprising.