'Why isn’t father calling me'

On July 19, journalist Tahir Zaman Priyo was fatally shot in the head as law enforcers opened fire to disperse quota reform protesters in the Science Lab area of the capital.

Priyo's friends, present at the protest, saw him fall as the shots rang out.

Despite trying to reach him several times, they were forced back by the police gunfire. Later, they watched as officers retrieved Priyo's body and took it away.

As the situation calmed, Priyo's friends searched from one police station to another for Priyo's body.

Their search met deadends as no station provided information about Priyo's whereabouts.

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The next day, a lead took them to the morgue of Dhaka Medical College.

After obtaining the necessary police clearance, they entered the morgue, bracing for the worst. Their worst fears were realised as they saw their Priyo's body lying at the morgue among other victims.

THE CHILD WHO LOST HER FATHER

Priyo left behind his four-year-old daughter Sadira Zaman.

The bond between Sadira and Priyo was a cherished one, built through nightly video calls that kept them connected despite the physical distance.

"Why isn't my father calling me," she keeps asking her grandmother since July 19.

This question has left Priyo's mother, Shamsi Ara Zaman, grappling with an answer she could not bring herself to give.

"What should I tell this little child?" she asked.

Priyo and his wife got divorced early, and Sadira had lived with her father until he moved to Dhaka for work.

Since then, she has been staying with Priyo's mother in Rangpur.

When Priyo's body was brought home, Sadira asked visitors not to disturb him, saying, "Baba ghumacche, tomra disturb koro na" (My father is sleeping, do not disturb him).

The house was filled with mourners, a crowd that puzzled Sadira.

She asked her grandmother why so many people had gathered at their home.

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UNFULFILLED DREAM

According to his mother, Priyo had a passion for cinematography and aspired to be a movie director. After passing the HSC examination, he moved to Dhaka to pursue his dream, enrolling at Pathshala South Asian Media Institute instead of university.

Priyo, 28, worked as a journalist for the online news portal thereport.live and was about to join another portal.

He actively participated in 2013 protests against war criminals, 2018 quota reform and road safety movements, said his mother.

During the recent clashes, Priyo's mother asked him not to participate due to the danger, but he insisted, saying, "This is a just movement, and I have the responsibility to join it."

Priyo's uncle, Alamgir Kabir, said Priyo had immense courage, reminiscent of his grandfather, a hero of the Language Movement.