Md. Saiful Islam

Shaheed Md. Saiful Islam was his family's only guardian. He was a decent and giving man, even though he was the guardian of a lower middle-class family. On January 1, 1975, Shaheed Saiful Islam was born in the Deulkathi village of Sadar Upazila in Jhalkathi district. Saiful Islam, the family's eldest son, was responsible of taking care of his three brothers and one sister from an early age. As a result, at the tender age of 15, martyr Saiful decided to leave his study and travel to the capital. His family could not provide him the cost of coming to Dhaka. So, to come to Dhaka, he had to sell his textbooks.
After coming to Dhaka, he worked as a day laborer in various places of the city for six long years. In 2006, at the age of 21, he found a new job and joined as a contractor under Mosru Chowdhury, a businessman of Dakshinkhan, Dhaka. He has been living there with his wife and only daughter for the last 17 years. Despite having a salary of 30 thousand Taka, he was unpretentious. He has always been working quietly. He was a banyan tree to his family and well-wishers. Even during the anti-discrimination student movement, he provided food, medical and financial assistance to many unknown people, but he never told anyone about it. At the time of his martyrdom, he left behind his wife and daughter. His only daughter is studying Masters at Dhaka University. Shaheed Md. Saiful Islam could not fulfill his dream of getting higher education himself, but he fulfilled that dream through his daughter.
Description of the Incident of Martyrdom
On Monday, August 5, 2024, at 6 PM, Saiful Islam was returning home from his workplace, House No. 9 of Sector 4. At that moment, the anti-discrimination student-public movement in all areas of Dhaka city was beginning to reach the verge of success. As the Prime Minister of the autocratic government fled the country, the students and the public were celebrating the joy of victory. Saiful Islam thought the situation had returned to normalcy. But shortly after leaving the office, he was shot in the chest and hand.
His only daughter, Sohana Akhter Mim, said, "On the morning of August 5, as the electricity went out my office, I left for home but instead of going directly home, I went to my father's office. It was 2 o'clock then. There, I had a pleasant chat with my father for a while about the newly independent Bangladesh. I told my father to go home. He said that you go, I will be a little late. Shortly after coming home, I received a call from my uncle. He informed that father was shot. At 5 o'clock, my mother and I went to Kuwait Maitri Hospital and found father in the morgue. Father had a bullet wound in his chest and hand. I could not accept that I would lose my father's smiling face so easily. Not being able to find an ambulance, my uncle and I carried father on our shoulders and took him to Uttara Adhunik Hospital by rickshaw. When the doctors there also declared father dead, we took him to Aichi Hospital in Abdullahpur. After hearing the same thing there too, we were sure that father was no more, then we lost the hope about him as there was no other way but to accept the truth."
Funeral and burial
The martyr's first funeral was held in front of Nipa Group office in Dakshinkhan and the second funeral was held in Deulkathi, Dhansiri, Jhalokathi district. He was buried in the family graveyard after the funeral.
Statements/feelings of relatives and friends about the martyr
Dr. Habib of Dakshinkhan, Dhaka said, "Mr. Saiful Islam was a very good man. He always helped people. I pray seeking the forgiveness of his soul."
Personal Information of the Shaheed at a Glance
Full name of the martyr : Md. Saiful Islam
Date of birth : 01/01/1975
Profession : Employed
Employer : Nipa Group of Companies Limited
Permanent address : Village: Deulkathi, Union: Dhansiri, Thana: Jhalkathi, District: Jhalkathi
Current address : House: Holan Road, Area: Islambag, Thana: Dakshinkhan, District: Dhaka
Father's name : A. Samad Moulvi
Mother's name : Mst. Setara Begum
Mother's profession and age : Housewife, 75 years old
Wife's name : Gul Nahar, Profession: Housewife
Daughter's name : Sohana Akhter Mim, Age: 24, Profession: Student
Institution: Dhaka University, Class: Masters
Assailant : Police force of the autocratic government
Time of injury : Evening : 6:30, Date: August 5
Date, time and place of death : August 5, 2024, Evening: 6:30, Uttara Adhunik Hospital
Current location of the martyr's grave : Deulkathi village, Dhansiri, Jhalkathi