"We were going for breakfast when my son got shot. He died without even having something to eat."

Akram Hossain could not hold back his tears as he recounted the tragic incident on July 21, when his eldest son, Arafat Rahman Akash, 16, was fatally shot on Chittagong Road in Dhaka's Jatrabari area.

"Around 11:00am, after the curfew was relaxed, Akash and I went out to have breakfast near our home in Masjid Goli (alley). Suddenly there were shots fired, and people scattered and ran to wherever they could take shelter.

Akash was a few yards behind me, so I looked back to see if he was alright, and saw him lying on the ground," said Akram, a fruit vendor from Wasekpur village under Noakhali's Sonaimuri upazila.

"At first, I thought he was scared and had laid down to take cover. As I got closer, I found him in a pool of blood. He was murmuring, 'Father, save me... save me'. But I couldn't save my boy. Three bullets had pierced his body."

"As I screamed, some people rushed in and took us to two private hospitals nearby, but neither admitted my son for treatment. Then my nephew Pavel managed an ambulance to take us to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. By the time we reached the hospital, Akash had bled to death. My son asked me to save him, but I could not…"

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Akram broke down as he recounted the events to this correspondent over phone. Akram, 45, his wife Laili Begum, 35, and their daughter Fahima Sultana Ankhi, a 10th grader, are struggling to cope with their loss.

Akash, the eldest of three siblings, had joined his father in selling fruits in Dhaka after failing his Secondary School Certificate test exams last year. His younger brother Adnan, 5, is a first grader at a local madrasa.

"The headteacher of Akash's school demanded Tk 10,000 to fill up his registration form for the SSC examination, but I could not manage the money. So, Akash left his studies and moved to Dhaka around six months ago to help me sell fruits," Akram said.

Since the boy's death, his mother has been in an unstable condition, fainting frequently and unable to eat or drink.

"My son was innocent. He would never leave the house without asking me. He did not even chat with others in the area. My husband is a poor man. We live in someone else's house; we don't have our own home," Laili said.

Akash's sister Fahima added, "My brother could not even appear in the SSC exam. There is no reason for him to join the anti-quota movement. I want justice for my brother's death."

Echoing her, Akram demanded, "I want those who shot my innocent son to be identified, brought to justice, and punished."