Kushtia Live: The small Roydanga Eidgah and the adjacent graveyard ground in Kushtia’s Raidanga village could hardly hold the influx of people who turned up there for the funeral of Abrar Fahad yesterday.

There were around 3,000 mourners of different ages. Most of them were shedding tears silently, talking in a low voice and more pressingly shaking their heads in disbelief reflecting on how an innocent and mild-mannered boy was brutally killed.

“How this brutality could take place with such a boy who never even talked loudly,” asked Habibul Hossain of Roydanga village.

Hossain, a government employee who has acquaintance with Abrar’s family, also said he still could not believe that Abrar died due to such heinous act.

Abrar was a second-year student at the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (EEE) at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet). He was beaten to death by Bangladesh Chhatra League men at his university dorm on Sunday night.

Habibul’s sentiment was echoed in that somber gathering. Most of them became emotional while responding to queries.

Those who were closely associated with the family or watched him growing from the distance said Abrar was polite, meritorious and religious.

Another villager Altaf Hossain said although he visited his ancestral home occasionally he has always been respectful to older ones and loved to play with the kids.

“He loved to play football or cricket with the little kids. He was also the go-to-person for students who wanted to solve a math puzzle or enrich their English grammar skill. He sat with those kids in front of his home to impart lesson,” Altaf said.

He demanded exemplary punishment to the killers. Mir Zahid, a teacher of Kushtia Zilla School from where Abrar completed his secondary schooling, said there are two types of students -- one chaotic and the other polite and meritorious in the class.

“Abrar belonged to the latter group. He hardly talked in the class but was first to answer to a question,” the teacher said, adding everybody loved him.

Nader Hossain, a relative of the slain Buet student said he always dream to do big things.“He was eager to learn and whenever a relative went to Dhaka he requested them to bring books,” Nader said.

Abrar’s grandfather, Abdul Gofur, who is now 86 and lives in Roydanga village, looked very annoyed for linking his grandson with Jamaat-Shibir political activities.

“I have learnt politics from Bangabandhu. I was loyal to his Awami League. How are those telling that I was not involved with Awami League? I want to talk to Prime Minister Hasina,” the octogenarian fumed.

Abrar’s younger brother Abrar Fiyaz told that his parents are totally devastated. His father Barkatullah said: “They have shattered my dream. They have ruined us.”

The family was going through economic hardship after Barkatullah’s retirement. The family was dreaming Abrar to alleviate it soon.

But Abrar took a final journey back home, leaving the nation in mourning.  The second Namaz-e-janaja of Abrar was held at Al-Hera Jame mosque, near to Abrar’s resident at PTTI road in Kushtia town and the first Janaja was held in his university (Buet) in Dhaka on Monday night.

Dhaka 08  October (campuslive24.com)//Az