Dhaka: Sheikh Azizur Rahman, who survived a gunshot wound during the July 2024 mass uprising, on Thursday fulfilled a long-held wish by meeting Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and presenting him with the blood-stained national flag he had used to stop the bleeding from his head after being shot. The meeting took place at the Prime Minister’s Office at the Bangladesh Secretariat, said a release issued by the PM’s Press Wing.
According to United News of Bangladesh, Azizur had long wished to hand the flag over to the Prime Minister. During the meeting, he presented the blood-stained flag that he had tied around his head to stop the bleeding after sustaining a gunshot wound. PM’s Additional Press Secretary Atikur Rahman Rumon said the meeting was arranged after the Prime Minister came across a recent media report claiming that Azizur had not been recognised as a July movement fighter because of his affiliation with Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal. Tarique Rahman then asked officials to look into the matter.
During the meeting, the Prime Minister listened to Azizur’s account of the incident and asked about his treatment, education, and current life. He also learned that Azizur has been driving a CNG-run auto-rickshaw to support himself and continue his studies.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Azizur suffered a gunshot wound to the head and 36 bullet splinter injuries on different parts of his body during the movement. To stop the bleeding, he wrapped the national flag around his head, leaving it soaked in blood. After the meeting, Azizur said he was happy and emotional to have met the Prime Minister. “I had always wanted to hand this flag to the Prime Minister. Today that wish has come true. I cannot express my feelings in words,” he said.
Azizur is a second-year honours student at the Department of Social Work of Government Bangla College and a member of the convening committee of the college unit of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal. He hails from Lohagara upazila in Narail. He came into the spotlight during the July 2024 movement after carrying the national flag on the Mirpur-10 flyover. He was later seriously injured in police firing.
Azizur was arrested by police on July 19, 2024, and released on July 21 after two days on remand. He has been driving a CNG-powered auto-rickshaw to meet his education and family expenses and has yet to receive recognition as a July fighter.