By late July 2024, deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina was aware that scores of protesters were dying on the streets across the country, yet her government doubled down on its heavy-handed response to suppress the movement.

The last thing 16-year-old Aminul Islam Amin told his mother before leaving home on July 21, 2024, was, “Maa, give me Tk 20. I want to buy some jhalmuri from the street”. After she gave him the money, he stepped outside and never returned home.