Mohammad Yasin Ali Sheikh

Mohammad Yasin Ali Sheikh was born in the family of Nur Islam in Rahim Nagar, Khulna district. The little boy, Mohammad Yasin Ali Sheikh, became the light of his extremely poor parents' home. His father passed away shortly after his birth. He was the beloved only brother of three older sisters. His mother dreamed that her son would grow up and take over the responsibilities of the family. He was good at studies from a young age, and also very playful. Despite being mischievous, he never got involved in any unethical activities from childhood. His help in all humanitarian work was remarkable. He regularly inquired about the well-being of his neighbors. He was a person with a gentle demeanor.
As the youngest brother of three sisters, he grew up with a lot of love. Although there was constant poverty in the family. Seeing the poverty, the little boy never wanted to buy anything very expensive for the family; rather, he was very conscious about his sisters' food. The boy dreamed, "I will grow up one day, and I will marry off my sisters with my own money." Despite not being able to study much due to family poverty and shortage, his sense of conscience was very strong. He was a simple and straightforward person. Yasin came to Dhaka to alleviate the family's poverty. He worked as a delivery man at an LP gas cylinder shop in the Jatrabari area of Dhaka.
Incident of Martyrdom
When the discriminatory quota system in government jobs was reinstated by the court, the student community of the whole of Bangladesh took to the streets against it. The students' movement continued through peaceful processions, rallies, human chains, and sending memorandums to the President. Meanwhile, when the students advanced towards the President's House to submit a memorandum, the police dispersed them with unprovoked baton charges, tear gas, and sound grenades. The students also put up resistance against this violation of democratic rights by the police. From then on, the tension between the government and the protesters increased.
In the midst of this, on July 16, 2024, when 6 people, including Abu Sayeed, Shanto, and Wasim Akram, were killed in police torture and firing across the country, the student community was enraged. The government, instead of accepting the just demands of the student community, adopted a policy of suppression and repression against the protesters. On July 17, widespread attacks were carried out by the police, Awami League, and Chhatra League at various public universities across the country, including Dhaka University. Residential students were evicted from the halls. The number of deaths due to police and Chhatra League bullets continued to rise. On July 18, when the students of private universities in Dhaka took the lead in the movement, the death toll exceeded hundreds in the clashes between unarmed students and armed police-Chhatra League forces across Dhaka. After seeing hundreds of ordinary students' bodies in just three days, the general public, the working class, and people from other walks of life in the country could no longer sit at home. They also expressed solidarity with the students' movement and took to the streets together from the very next day. The quota reform student movement turned into a mass anti-discrimination movement.
July 19, 2024, Friday, a holy day of Jummah. The situation became tensed from the morning in Jatrabari area. However, no untoward incident was reported from morning till before the prayers. After offering the holy Jummah prayers, the general public and students took to the streets together. The police force and armed terrorists of the Awami League obstructed and carried out surprise attacks on the peaceful procession of the people. One after another body fell on the street due to their indiscriminate firing. The procession of martyrs grew larger.
After the prayers, while returning to the shop after delivering gas cylinders to a customer's house, Shaheed Yasin got caught in the chase and counter-chase between the students, the public, and the Awami League in Jatrabari. At one point in the clash, a bullet fired by terrorists hit Yasin. He was taken to Mugda Medical College Hospital in an injured condition. He died on July 25 while undergoing treatment.
What the Martyr's Mother Said
Visiting the house of Yasin Sheikh in Rahim Nagar, Rupsa, it was seen that they live in a dilapidated hut.
Yasin's mother, Monjila Begum, said, "After Yasin was shot, some boys came to my rented house in Matuail area of Jatrabari, Dhaka, and informed me about his shooting. At that time, I didn't have a single taka, after many requests, a rickshaw puller took me to Yasin without fare. Then I admitted him to Mugda Hospital. He died on the 25th. Then, with the money donated by the villagers, I brought Yasin's body to our Khulna home in an ambulance. We had to endure a lot of harassment on the way too.”
Crying, she further said, "My son was not at fault. He was a passerby. He was not affiliated with any party. He worked and ate. I used to work in people's homes. The income from Yasin's earnings supported the family, including the rent. How will I survive now, who will feed me? Everything is over for me. I couldn't even imagine that he would leave my chest empty at such a young age."
Description of the Family's Economic Condition
Besides Ali, there are three more sisters. All the sisters were married, but recently the youngest sister got divorced. As Yasin was the youngest in the family, he was not involved in any work then. The family was extremely poor; they struggled to make ends meet. The mother works in other people's homes, and with this income, she somehow manages the family. Seeing her mother's suffering, Yasin Ali decided to go to Dhaka and do something to help her. The economic condition forced not only Md. Yasin Ali but also his mother to come to Dhaka.
 
Personal Information of the Shaheed at a Glance
Name: Md. Yasin Ali Sheikh
Date of Birth: 16-10-2008
Father: Late Nur Islam Sheikh
Mother: Monjila Begum
Permanent Address: Village: Rahim Nagar, Union: 3 No. Naihati, Thana: Rupsa, District: Khulna
Profession: Employed (Used to work as a gas cylinder delivery man)
Place of Incident: Jatrabari
Time of Injury: July 19, 3 PM
Time of Martyrdom: July 24, 6 PM
Type of Injury: Gunshot wound
Attacker: Police
Current Location of Martyr's Grave: Rahimnagar, Khulna Colony Graveyard
Proposal
1. One-time financial assistance could be provided to the martyr's mother as capital for business.