We had to bribe hospital for his body

With a trembling voice, Abdul Gani's wife, Lucky Akhtar, kept asking, "Who will take the responsibility of my son and daughter?"
A single bullet has devastated her family beyond imagination.
On July 19, Gani, 45, was heading to his workplace, a hotel in Gulshan, from Gupipara of Uttar Badda, when he was struck in the head by a bullet during a clash between law enforcers and protesters in the Shahjadpur Banshtala area.
Gani was declared dead at Dhaka Medical College Hospital later that day.
"He called me around 9:00am," Lucky recalled. "He wanted to know if everyone at home had had breakfast. He said he was going to work after receiving an urgent call and warned me that the situation in Dhaka was tense. He asked me to keep him in my prayers before we disconnected the call. That was the last time I spoke to him."
Now, Lucky is left alone to care for their two children -- Al-Amin, an HSC candidate, and daughter Jannat, a six-year-old.
With their house in Natun Bazar area of Khankanapur union in Rajbari still under construction and loans taken to build it, Lucky is desperate. "How do I pay back the Tk two lakh we owe? How can I provide for my children and ensure their education?"
Al-Amin said, "My father always told me to study hard so that we could overcome our sorrows. Now, who will tell me those words? Who will bring justice for my father's death?"
Gani's father, Abdul Mazid Sheikh, received the tragic news from an unknown caller around 10:30am.
"The caller said my son had been shot and urged me to send someone to a hospital in North Badda. I didn't even know which of my sons was in danger. Both of them live in Dhaka. I had to call my younger son, Tariqul, to figure out what was happening."
Tariqul, Gani's younger brother, then called his brother's number. Someone picked it up and told him to go to the hospital.
"I found Gani unconscious and bleeding in an ambulance. I rushed him to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where the doctor told me to bring some medicine. When I returned after 10 minutes, the doctor said it was too late," said Tariqul.
Tariqul said his brother died around 11:30am on Friday.
However, obtaining Gani's body proved to be a gruelling and costly process.
"I got his body from Dhaka Medical College Hospital two days later, on Sunday afternoon," said Tariqul.
He said he was forced to pay bribes totaling Tk 9,000 to get his brother's body, which included paying Tk 500 each to search three rooms at the morgue.
He also paid Tk 7,500 to avoid procedural delays, he said.
"Then I rented an ambulance for Tk 10,500 but was compelled to hire another one through the morgue's in-charge, costing Tk 20,000," he added.
"Finally, we were able to bury my brother. But is this how we treat the body of an innocent man?"
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