Hailing from Mymensingh, Kamal Hossain had been staying in Dhaka for 15 years to bear the educational expenses of his brother and sister, who used to read in madrasas. Two years ago, Kamal Hossain married Sharmin Akhtar of Noakhali and lived with his wife in the Lalbagh graveyard area in Dhaka. He worked as a cook in a hotel and sometimes drove a rickshaw.
Kamal Hossain was the son of Majida Khatun and Hashim Uddin, a farmer from Khuliarchar village in Rajibpur Union of Ishwarganj Upazila. He was the third of six brothers.
On August 5 last year, Kamal Hossain joined others to loot the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum and nearby houses at Dhanmondi-32 in the afternoon. They also torched the buildings.
The next morning, some people brought out four charred bodies, two of which could not be identified from their mutilated faces, during the second round of looting.
Liton Mia, the elder brother of Kamal Hossain, said: โWe received news of Kamal around 10am on August 6. Someone called and said that his body was lying in Dhanmondi. When we found the body, it was in a burnt state. The body had turned black. The face was also slightly damaged. There was no way to identify him by looking at his face. But his name was written on the back of the T-shirt he was wearing. We identified him by looking at his T-shirt, pants, and mobile phone.โ
July Conspiracy: Gazetted lists contain many fake martyrs, injured fighters
Another fraud case on the list of โJuly martyrsโ found in Patuakhali
Someone took out the SIM from his mobile phone and called his family to inform them of the death.
Quoting rescuers, eyewitness Imran, a street child, and other locals, the media reported that the victims died after entering the museum to loot valuables and being trapped in the fire.
Liton Mia said they only found the body. No one could say how Kamal Hossain died. The body was brought directly to the village home without an autopsy and buried beside the Khuliarchar Jame Mosque.
Kamal Hossainโs parents were at a loss due to the untimely death of their breadwinner son and demanded justice. The interim government, led by Muhammad Yunus, granted their wish and enlisted him as martyr number 460 on the gazetted list of 834.
In Jashore, the five-star hotel Zabeer International was looted and torched by the students and other protesters on August 5, when 19 of the looters were trapped and killed in the fire. The Yunus regime has included their names in the list of July martyrs.
Moreover, different media outlets have published reports on at least 30 fake martyrs.
Rokeya Uni professor arrested in murder case over grocerโs โheart attackโ
Special benefits, law for July martyrs, warriors amid row over fake lists
Through the July Memorial Foundation, the government has provided a one-time grant of Tk30 lakh, in addition to a monthly allowance of Tk20,000.
Moreover, the government is constructing 804 flats, each of 1,355 square feet, for the martyrs in Mirpurโs Section 14 of the capital.
Spree of fake martyrs
Bashir Sardar, 40, of Khalishakhali village in Badarpur Union in Patuakhali, died in 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.
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.
Abu Sayed was killed in a mob lynching while extorting money in the Bahir Tenga area of Dhakaโs Demra on August 9 last year, according to the report by Banglanews24.com. Son of Md Sekendar Ali and father of a child, Abu Sayed, has been mentioned on the list of the July martyrs at 179.
However, a Dhaka Post report from August 10 says Abu Sayed was the convener of Jubo Dalโs Ward No. 67 Unit. He was severely injured when some unidentified criminals attacked him with sharp weapons while he was taking tea in the area on the evening of August 9. Doctors at Dhaka Medical College Hospital declared him dead on arrival.
Md Imtiaz Hossain, son of Md Habibur Rahman of the Chatkhil area in โโNoakhali, was an employee of a courier service. When the government fell on August 5, he participated in the looting of the Chatkhil police station and ran away with a weapon. On the way, he was accidentally shot in the leg and died of excessive bleeding. Imtiaz is included in the list of martyrs at 784.
Bijoy died in a motorcycle accident in Jatrabari on August 13 while going to a restaurant to buy paratha. He is also on the list of martyrs.
Al Amin was shot dead in a land dispute in the Wari area of โโOld Dhaka. His father filed a murder case at the Wari police station. His name is also on the list of martyrs.
Grocer Somechh Uddin of Hazirhat in Rangpur died of a heart attack on August 2 last year, when he tried to flee his shop in the Radha Krishnapur area after seeing a police team. The police were looking for a local Jamaat leader. Police wrote the FIR, alleging that the grocer was tortured by the Awami League supporters with weapons and made him bleed.
Dead man returns
On October 24, Kulsum Begum filed a murder case with a Dhaka court, accusing Sheikh Hasina and 129 others of the death of her husband, Al Amin. Ashulia police registered the case on November 8.
She alleged that he was killed while taking part in an anti-government protest in Bypile of Ashulia on August 5. She also identified an unclaimed body as that of her husband.
On November 11, Al Amin appeared at the Dakkhin Surma police station and filed a general diary, saying that his wife had filed a false case by showing him dead.
Two days later, he testified at Dhakaโs Chief Judicial Magistrateโs Court with the help of the Ashulia police.
The couple used to stay in Sylhet. After an argument with Al Amin, Kulsum left him on August 28 and went to Ashulia.
Police arrested Kulsum and two of her associates. She later confessed that she had filed the false case at the instruction of the duo, who offered her a job.
A man named Solaiman Selim from the Fulbaria area of โโMymensingh is claiming that his brother filed a murder case showing him dead during the July movement. When the police went to his address for investigation, they came to know about his fake death.
Selim recently filed a general diary at the local police station out of fear for his safety.
The case was registered at Jatrabari police station, stating that he died in a shooting in Dhakaโs Kajla area on August 3. Sheikh Hasina is the main accused in the murder case. The other accused are 41 people, including Obaidul Quader, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, and Shamim Osman, and another 150-200 unnamed Awami League leaders and activists.
At Ashulia police station, a man named Shahed Hasan filed a case over the death of Ashraful Islam, who was found shot dead near Habib Hospital on August 5. Ashrafulโs mother filed the other case at the same police station. The names of the accused in the cases are also different.
Ashuliaโs Lucky Akhter said she did not know the accused in the case filed over the death of her husband, Abul Hossain. The students asked her to sign a paper. โAt that time, I told them to name the accused after scrutising the CCTV footage. But they said they already knew the culprits,โ she said.
As per the case, she filed it on October 5, accusing 32 named and 300-400 unnamed members of the Awami League and the 14-party alliance of the murder.
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