The road at Goalanda Mor in Rajbari was busy. A petrol pump bustling with work in the darkness of early dawn, just like any other day. But it was on January 16, that routine moment altered an entire family forever. Over fuel worth only five thousand taka—and in exchange for that, petrol pump worker Ripon Saha (30) lost his life.
Family of the victim and coworker strongly alleged that Ripon’s death was not an accident— it was a brutal killing.
Besides, the bloodstained incident drew little attention from the media. In that neglect lie the unheard cries of a devastated family, a mother’s piercing sorrow, and lives suddenly thrust into uncertainty.
The deceased, Ripon Saha, was the son of Pabitra Saha of Sahapara in Khan Khanapur area under Rajbari Sadar upazila. He was the eldest of four siblings—and the sole breadwinner of the family. The responsibility of supporting his ailing elderly parents, household expenses, and medical costs rested entirely on his shoulders. The income he earned by working as a fuel supplier at Karim Filling Station in Goalanda Mor kept the family going.
And it was while doing that very job that he lost his life.
According to family members and eyewitnesses, a black jeep arrived at Karim Filling Station early Friday morning to refuel. Abul Hashem Sujan, former president of Rajbari district Jubo Dal who is contractor in profession, got out of the vehicle. Ripon Saha supplied fuel worth five thousand taka. But without paying the money, the vehicle attempted to speed away.
In an attempt to collect the payment owed for his work, Ripon ran and stood in front of the vehicle. Allegedly, he was then deliberately knocked down and run over. Shortly afterward, his lifeless body was found on the road in front of the petrol pump, with severe injuries to his face and head.
Grief descended upon the family immediately after the incident. Having lost her only earning son, the mother is now utterly helpless and speechless. Sitting beside her son’s body, only one question keeps echoing in her mind: “What was my son’s crime?”
The victim’s younger brother, Prodip Saha, filed a case of murder and fraud at Rajbari Sadar Police Station on the very night of the incident, naming two accused. Prodip Saha said,
“Everything is clear in the CCTV footage. Everyone, including the police, has seen how my brother was killed by running him over with a vehicle. We want nothing but justice—exemplary punishment.”
After reviewing the CCTV footage from the petrol pump, police arrested former Jubo Dal leader Abul Hashem Sujan from the Ramkantapur area and the driver of the vehicle, Kamal Hossain, from the Banibh area. Now they are in jail.
Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Rajbari Sadar Police Station, Khondoker Ziaur Rahman, said,
The police have received it, and legal proceedings are underway.
Aman/