Martyred Lal Miah. Photo : Collected

TANGAIL, May 2, 2025 (BSS) - Lal Miah, 45, embraced martyrdom during the 2024 July Uprising, handing over the big responsibilities of the now four-member family to her distressed wife Ambia Begum that she never imagined of at this stage of life.

Like many lives sacrificed, Lal Miah pursued the fate that eventually ousted fascist Sheikh Hasina on August 5, 2024.

Following martyrdom of Lal Miah, sole breadwinner of the family, the middle-aged wife with three children plunged into severe financial hardship. 

Lal Miah, a small-scale poultry trader from Majhira village of Madhupur upazila in the district, was fatally shot by police on August 4, 2024 at Palli Bidyut Mor in the Gazipur-Mawna intersection in Gazipur.

He was returning home after wrapping up a business trip to Dhaka.

"We are a poor family. My husband was a kindhearted and honest person. He ran a small poultry business in Dhaka. He had no political affiliation," Ambia told BSS at her village home here.

She still wonders why her husband was killed who had no political affiliations.

"Why was my husband killed by gunfire? What wrong did he do," she threw such questions that could hardly be answered agreeably.

"I demand justice for my husband's killing," Ambia said, while her uncontrollable tears rolling down her face.

She recalled the day when her husband was shot.

Ambia said thousands of protestors blocked the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway since morning to realize their one point demand to step down Hasina, a name that is now arguably used synonymous to fascism.

Lal Miah, having sold chickens in Dhaka's Tejgaon area, was returning home to Tangail. With public transportation disrupted on the streets, he traveled all the way by van and CNG-run auto. Eventually, he began walking, she said.

Ambia said when he reached the Palli Bidyut Moor in the Gazipur-Mawna intersection, he became entangled in the massive protest. Shortly after, Lal Miah was shot in the abdomen when police opened indiscriminate firing towards the protesters.

He was left wounded on the street for a long time. Nobody was nearby to help him. Later, a van driver rescued and took him to Enam Medical College Hospital in Savar on the outskirts of the capital. He was admitted to Intensive Care Unit, she added.

After battling for his life for two days, he breathed his last in the hospital on August 6. Lal Miah was laid to rest in their family graveyard on the same day.

The family owns only four decimals of land-just their homestead. With Lal Miah no more, it is now the fight of Ambia to run the family.

"Without my husband, I spend all day in worry how to provide for my children's education and daily needs," she said in a somber voice.

She continued, "If my husband were alive, we wouldn't have to beg. Now we just want the government to pay its kind attention to us."

Since Lal Miah's death, she received Tk 2 lakh from Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, Tk 10,000 from the local BNP and Tk 20,000 from the local administration.

Lal Miah's son-in-law, Robiul Islam Sohag, said an unknown person called him and informed about the admission of his fatally injured father-in-law.

"I begged him not to travel to Tangail that day due to unrest. He didn't pay heed," Robiul said.

"My father loved us the most. Whatever we needed, he never said no. Now he left us forever. I can't help crying whenever his memories peep in my mind," said Lal Miah's 11-year-old son Abdul Ahad.

He demanded justice for his father's killing and state honour for Lal Miah's sacrifice.

Lal Miah was the only martyr from the district during the July Uprising, while at least 14 others were injured, according to Madhupur Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Zubayer Hossain.

Apart from providing Tk 20,000 to martyr family, Zubayer unveiled a plan to install a submersible water pump worth Tk 1.10 lakh at Lal Miah's home in his memory.

Once the pump is installed, his family and nearby residents will be able to use water, he said.

He added arrangements have been made to ensure Lal Miah's children's education at a local Madrasa free of cost.

"Lal Miah sacrificed his life for the country. His sacrifice will never be forgotten," the UNO said, conveying his sympathy to the bereaved family.