<i>Last days of an unsung freedom fighter</i>

30 August 2009, 17:00 PM

Our Correspondent, Magura

Left without proper medical treatment for two days after serious burn injuries, an insolvent freedom fighter of Sreepur upazila in Magura district died shortly after his admission into Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) on Friday night. He was denied any state honour during his burial on Saturday as his name was not included on the latest list of freedom fighters prepared during the rule of four-party alliance government in 2003. The ill-fated freedom fighter, Quazi Abu Bakar of Khamarpara village in Sreekol union under Sreepur upazila received serious burn injuries while trying to save his cattle from a fire at his cowshed on Wednesday night. Neighbours rushed him to Magura Sadar Hospital but he could not get proper treatment due to financial problem. His sons, who do petty jobs in Dhaka, rushed to Magura on Thursday and shifted him to DMCH. But his condition had seriously deteriorated by the time and he succumbed to his injuries on Friday night. “Bakar was my co-fighter during the Liberation War and I know that his name was included in the 'national list' prepared in 1983. He had also a certificate as a freedom fighter,” said former deputy commander of Magura district unit Muktijoddha Sangsad Mian Abdul Halim Miraj. “I informed Sreepur upazila social welfare officer about the tragic death of valiant freedom fighter Quazi Abu Bakar, but he did not take any initiative to give him state honour saying that Bakar's name was not in the latest list of freedom fighters,” said Amirul Islam Babu, former commander of Sreepur upazila unit Muktijoddha Sangsad. When contacted over telephone, Sreepur Upazila Nirbahi Officer Mina Masuduzzaman, also the acting commander of upazila unit Muktijoddha Sangsad, said, “Bakar was not given state honour as we were not aware of his death. Nobody gave me any written or verbal information about the tragic end of his life.”