Grief, silence descend on Rudra’s home, his parents are struck dumb

Rudra Sen was a gentle young man who had never attended a political meeting or march.

His parents dreamt that when he came home from university, he would be an engineer. Instead, what came home was his body.

The eyes that waited to see their son are now stricken by pain. The only sound in the grieving house is moans.

“I can’t believe that Rudra is gone,” says Susmita Sen, his elder sister, crying.

Rudra was a second-year student in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Polymer Science at the Shahjalal Institute of Science and Technology. His family hailed from Paharpur in Dinajpur’s Sadar Upazila. Rudra was staying in the Surma residential area near the university.

Rudra was the younger son of college teachers Subir Sen and Shikha Banik. His older sister Susmita completed her post-graduate degree as a doctor of veterinary medicine from the Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University.

Grieving her brother’s loss, she said:

“Rudra was a gentle person. He never attended a political rally or protest. Our parents had dreamt their son would become an engineer. They were speechless when they received the body. Our entire house is silent now. It stands empty.”

“What can I say? Rudra is gone. Will that hole ever be filled?”

WHAT HAPPENED?

Asadullah Al Ghalib, one of the coordinators of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement at SUST, said: “Rudra was injured in a series of clashes between police and students over the quota reform movement at the main gate of the university on Jul 18.”

“That evening, Rudra and his classmates went to relocate to a safe location. The police threw tear gas shells at the time. To try and save his life, he attempted to cross a canal on a raft and fell into the water and drowned.”

Ghalib said, “Rudra Sen has been martyred. I have dubbed the main gate at the university Shaheed Rudra Gate in his name.”

Prof Md Tamez Uddin, head of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Polymer Science, said:

“I spoke to Rudra’s uncle. We said that the department’s teachers will meet and see if we can support the family in any way.”