Yet another fake martyr of the jihadist-backed July riots has been identified in Patuakhali, with the Yunus regime turning a blind eye to the blunders one after another.
Since February, when the regime published a list of 834 โJuly martyrs,โ news reports on around 30 fake cases have surfaced in the media. They were killed in mob beatings or fire incidents after looting valuables, or died of a heart attack.
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Even though there are instances of cases being filed for murder, some of the โmartyrsโ were found alive.
In the latest case, Bashir Sardar, 40, died in the hospital after falling ill. His relatives included his name in the list of martyrs in the July uprising by showing his medical report. When a conflict arose within the family over the share of the grant money received from the government, the elder brother of the deceased, Nasir Sardar, filed a written complaint with the Patuakhali deputy commissioner on July 22.
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Bashir Sardar is the younger son of Sekandar Sardar of Khalishakhali village in Badarpur union. He used to run a tea shop in the municipal New Market area of the district town.
According to the written complaint and family sources, Bashir Sardar was injured on July 3, 2024, when an iron bar entered his leg. Then, while getting him treated in Dhaka, the family recorded information about his participation in the July movement. He later died on November 15.
Later, the district administration gave the family a savings certificate of Tk2 lakh.
Meanwhile, after verifying the complaint, Patuakhali Deputy Commissioner Abu Hasnat Mohammad Arefin sent a letter to the Cabinet Secretary recommending that Bashir’s name be removed from the list and the savings certificate be suspended.
Denying involvement in the forgery, Patuakhali Anti-Discrimination Student Movement (ADSM) Coordinator and Student Representative Sajibul Islam Salman and Miraj Imtiaz said the man’s family recorded information about his participation in the July movement.
Reba Akhter, the wife of the deceased, said that on July 3 last year, while returning home from the intersection in the district town, her husband was seriously injured when an iron bar went into his foot. When his foot became rotten, he was taken to a hospital in Dhaka for treatment. She had to borrow a lot of money to get him treated. On November 15, her husband died on the way home.
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She also said that after her husband died, she became helpless to support her two children. Later, under the instigation of Bashir’s elder brother, she was forced to include her husband’s name in the list by giving false information. But at one stage, Bashir’s parents and elder brother demanded a large part of the grant. When they refused to give them the money, Nasir got angry and complained to the DC.
Nasir said that his younger brother was not injured after participating in the mass uprising. But a lot of money was spent on his treatment for the injury. Therefore, his name was included in the martyrs’ list to get government grants. Later, he realised his crime and applied to the District Administrator and presented the real facts.
The father of the deceased, Sekandar Sardar, said that he spent Tk5 lakh on his treatment. But Bashir’s wife Reba Akhter is enjoying Tk12 lakh of the government grants alone. That is why his elder son complained to the DC, mentioning the real facts.
People are criticising the government vehemently for the gross irregularities in preparing the list of martyrs and the injured.
They are questioning the sincerity of the government officials concerned and the committees formed by the student leaders. They are accusing the committee members, the police, and the plaintiffs of financial corruption.
A report by Banglanews24.com has cited at least four names falsely included in the list of July martyrs. Many people who had not participated in the movement and were not injured at that time have been labelled as July Joddha (July Warriors or July Fighters).
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Many of the injured and the families of the fake martyrs have received assistance from the July Memorial Foundation by providing false information.
So far, more than 70 people who were included in the list of martyrs and July Warriors (injured) through fraud using fake documents have been identified.
July Memorial Foundation officials say they have written to the government to remove the names of 19 people from the Health Ministryโs MIS list. If scrutinised properly, another 1,000-1,500 fake injuries could be detected.
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