Dhaka: Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) and the Dhaka University Film Society (DUFS) separately paid tribute to filmmaker Tareque Masud and ATN News CEO Mishuk Munier this evening, marking 15 years since the road crash that killed them along with three colleagues on the Dhaka-Aricha highway in Manikganj on 13 August, 2011.

According to United News of Bangladesh, candles were lit at the Tareque Masud-Mishuk Munier memorial sculpture near Dhaka University’s TSC, attended by family members, road safety activists, lawyers, and BLAST officials. Following the event of BLAST, DUFS organised a film screening at the same monument, showing “Muktir Gaan” and “Fera” by Tareque Masud. The organisation stated that it holds such a screening at the site every year in memory of the two filmmakers.

Alongside the remembrance, BLAST renewed its call for prompt and adequate compensation for road crash victims, noting that more than 3,307 people have died in road crashes since July 2026, citing Road Safety Foundation data. It demanded that compensation under the Road Transport Act, 2018 be treated as rightful redress rather than a “grant” or “financial assistance,” along with a simple, swift, and victim-friendly claims process, and effective, accountable measures to prevent road crashes.

Speaking at the event, Mishuk Munier’s brother Asif Munier said that for families who have lost loved ones, the day remains difficult to speak about. “When a major accident or disaster strikes a family, the trauma doesn’t fade – not in a day, two days, or even, in this case, fifteen years,” he said, adding that grief may not always be visible but persists nonetheless.

He thanked BLAST and other organisations for continuing the annual remembrance, saying it “touches our hearts,” and noted that Tareque Masud’s widow Catherine Masud, though abroad, remained with them in spirit. Munier stressed that beyond monetary compensation, what victims’ families truly seek is dignity and social recognition, urging continued public awareness to prevent such tragedies from recurring.