'My Asif is gone'

"My son, I told you not to go. I told you, but you went anyway... My Asif is gone. Asif is no more." 

Shirin Begum, the mother of Asif Hasan, kept saying this after the family got the news of his death on 18 July.

Asif, a second-year student at Northern University, was shot dead during clashes centring the quota reform movement in the Uttara area of Dhaka on July 18 at around 12:30pm.

The family saw the image of his bloodied body on social media at around 3pm. 

Asif's mother repeatedly fainted upon hearing the news, while his father was left speechless.

As the news of Asif's death spread, relatives, neighbours, and close ones flocked to his home in Askarpur village in Satkhira's Debhata upazila that day.

Asif's father, Mahmud Gazi, sat silently in a chair under a mango tree in their yard, unable to speak. Relatives tried to console him, but there were no words could not ease the pain of a bereaved father.

Asif's body was still in Dhaka, with his sister Mukti Parveen, who lived in the capital, trying to bring it home.

Asif and his twin brother Rakib Hasan were the youngest of five siblings. Rakib, currently studying at Satkhira Government College, is also left devastated by the tragedy.

Asif's school teacher, Abul Hasan, described him as a very calm and bright youth.

"Asif was in the English department at Northern University. He was very intelligent. Academic space has turned bloody now. Bullets lodged in the chests of students... we do not want to see such a death," Abul Hasan said, unable to continue, falling silent.

Asif's body arrived at his home at around 1:30am on 19 July. Despite the late hour, many people were still present. As the body arrived, cries of grief filled the house once more.

Initially, it was decided that Asif's funeral prayers would take place after the Friday Jummah prayers, but the burial was completed at around 6:30am.

Noapara Union Parishad Chairman Alamgir Hossain said, "I saw the body when it arrived. His chest was completely shredded, and there was a bullet mark on the right side of his head. Asif got caught in the crossfire during a clash while participating in the quota protest. He probably suffered shrapnel injuries to his chest."