Just one question

For about 18 months, Noorjahan had been waiting to face Nur Hossain.

"I just want to ask him [Nur] why he killed my son ... Why?" said the woman, in her sixties, whose son Ibrahim was among the seven people killed allegedly by some Rab men on April 27 last year in exchange for money from Nur Hossain.

Ibrahim was the driver of lawyer Chandan Sarker who too was killed that day.

Having lost her eldest child, also the breadwinner of the family, Noorjahan almost lost her sanity. All she could think of was why her son had to be killed.

But Nur, the main accused in the seven-murder case, was in India since the incident.

When she heard the news of his deportation on the TV, early morning chill, weak health or distance -- nothing could stop her from rushing to the Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court of Narayanganj from her home in Algirchar village in Sonargaon.

Wrapping herself with an extra saree for she couldn't afford a shawl, she was waiting on the court premises since 8:00am yesterday for an opportunity to confront the culprit. She hadn't even eaten anything the whole day.

Recalling the moment when she first saw Ibrahim's body after it was recovered from the Shitalakkhya river, Noorjahan said, "His hands and legs were tied with ropes. There was another rope tied around his neck. I could not forget the sight."

"He was a young man like you," she said pointing to one of these correspondents, as they were waiting for Nur Hossain to be brought to the court.

"I don't understand why Nur killed him and this is what I want to know."

Her husband Abdul Wahab was also with her.

"We know Nur Hossain was not alone. There are others [behind the murders] and we demand justice," said the 70-year-old.

With Ibrahim dead, the family finds it hard to bear the expenses.

"We got only Tk 20,000 after Ibrahim's death and that's all," said the bereaved father.

But for Noorjahan, nothing seemed more important than getting the answer to her question.

She kept looking at the entrance to the court premises and asking people how long it might take for Nur Hossain to be brought there.

However, when he was finally brought in, heavy security protocol didn't allow her to get even close to him.

"I could not even see him [Nur]," she said as tears rolled down from her eyes.

"Perhaps I will have to live with the burden of this question," said Noorjahan just before policemen drove them along with others away from in front of the court building.

Noorjahan trudged her way out, wiping her eyes, behind her husband.