Staff Reporter:
The rickshaw that carried the body of Shaheed Golam Nafiz, a student killed during the anti-discrimination movement, will be preserved at the July Revolution Memorial Museum.
The announcement was made by Md Nahid Islam, Adviser to the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology, and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, after visiting Gonobhaban on Thursday.
During the visit, Adviser Nahid expressed gratitude to the rickshaw puller, Nur Mohammad, for his bravery in transporting Nafiz’s body to the hospital on the day of the tragic incident.
He also assured Nur Mohammad of financial assistance for his role in the critical moment.
The decision to preserve the rickshaw comes after a report in Prothom Alo on November 5, which revealed that the rickshaw, where Nafiz’s lifeless body had been placed, was sold by the owner. Upon reading the report, Adviser Nahid Islam instructed his office to immediately locate the rickshaw and its owner.
After contacting Nur Mohammad, it was revealed that he had sold the rickshaw to Ahsanul Kabir Siddiqui Kaiser, a Bangladeshi living in London, for Tk 35,000. Kaiser, upon being informed about the significance of the rickshaw, expressed his wish to donate it to the museum.
Following this, the rickshaw was officially handed over to Mahfuj Alam, joint convener of the museum committee and special assistant to the Chief Adviser, on Thursday.
Golam Nafiz, a student of Banani Bidyaniketan School and College, was brutally shot dead on August 4, 2024, during the anti-discrimination student movement in Dhaka’s Farmgate area. After Nafiz was shot, police placed his body on the foot of a rickshaw, where he was still holding onto the rickshaw’s rod with his hands. The rickshaw puller, Nur Mohammad, rushed Nafiz to the hospital; however, he later succumbed to his injuries.
