‘Almighty will serve justice’

Family members of the five victims killed in the Gopalganj violence last week expressed their reluctance to file cases, fearing they would not get justice.

Four people, Dipto Saha, Ramzan Kazi, Imon Talukdar, and Sohel Mollah, died of gunshot wounds at Gopalganj Medical College Hospital on Wednesday -- the day of the incident.

They were buried without post-mortem examinations or any police inquest report.

Another victim, Ramzan Munshi, who was shifted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, died in the early hours of Friday.

A violent clash involving Awami League followers and law enforcers over an NCP rally at Gopalganj Municipal Park also left around 50 injured, including 10 policemen.

"I don't even know who shot him; against whom should I file a case?" said Sanjay Saha, elder brother of Dipto Saha.

Talking to The Daily Star at their Udayan Road residence in Gopalganj town yesterday, Sanjay said, "We tried everything to save him, but couldn't. He died on the operating table at Gopalganj General Hospital."

He said he carried Dipto's body on his shoulder to their home and later cremated him at the municipal crematorium that evening.

Recalling the incident, Sanjay, who runs a readymade garment shop in the town's Chourangi area, said he told his younger brother to return home as the situation turned violent around 2:00pm. "When I was returning home, taking a different route, I heard Dipto was shot."

Dipto's mother, Vibha Rani Saha, was barely able to speak before she said, "The Almighty will serve justice for my son's murder."

Like the Sahas, Ramzan's family has also chosen not to file a case.

Ramzan's brother, Jamal Munshi, said Ramzan's body was brought home from Dhaka after a post-mortem at DMCH and buried on Friday night.

Regarding filing a case, Jamal said, "What good would it do? It won't bring back my brother. And we don't know who to accuse. We leave it to Allah."

Ramzan's uncle, Kalim Munshi, said, "No one helped when my nephew was shot. What's the point of filing a case now?"

The families of the other two victims, Imon Talukdar and Sohel Mollah, expressed similar sentiments.

Gopalganj Sadar Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mir Mohammad Sajedur Rahman yesterday said, "None of the victims' family members have approached us regarding filing a case."

Meanwhile, police filed another case on Friday night with the Gopalganj Sadar Police Station over the violence, bringing the total number of cases in connection with the incident to four.

The case, filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act, has 54 named and 350 unnamed accused -- all allegedly Awami League activists. The charges include attacking police, vandalising and setting vehicles on fire, blocking roads, and engaging in anti-state activities, said the OC.

In the four cases, police accused 345 named and 2,650 unnamed persons and have arrested 306 people so far.

Besides, the ongoing curfew imposed in Gopalganj since Wednesday has been extended by another 12 hours till 6:00am today.

Gopalganj Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Kamruzzaman made the announcement yesterday.