At the RAB-7 office in Patenga, Chattogram, a tent had been set up on a corner of the front field. There, Deputy Assistant Director (DAD) Mohammad Motaleb Hossain Bhuiya was being given his final bath. Nearby, his nine-year-old daughter Sidratul Muntaha trembled, trying to hold back her tears as she stared at the tent. Someone came to console her, but her cries—“Abbu! Abbu!”—went unanswered from inside the tent.
On Tuesday afternoon, DAD Motaleb’s body was brought from the Chattogram Medical College Hospital morgue to the RAB-7 office in Patenga. His wife Shamsunnahar, elder son Mehedi Hasan, elder daughter Shamima Jannat, younger daughter Muntaha, and several relatives had arrived from their ancestral home in Alipur, Comilla Sadar. After the funeral prayer at the RAB office, his body will be taken to his village.
On Monday evening, a RAB team conducting an operation in Salimpur forest, Sitakunda, came under attack by terrorists. Motaleb Hossain Bhuiya was killed, and three other RAB members were injured. A public announcement was made during the attack. Later, a police team led by the Chattogram District Police Superintendent rescued the RAB members. The injured three are being treated at Combined Military Hospital, Chattogram.
The sudden news left Motaleb’s family unprepared. Since hearing it yesterday, they have been overwhelmed with grief. His wife Shamsunnahar was inconsolable, saying through her tears, “My life is over,” while trying to comfort the children.
Fifth-grader Muntaha could not stop crying. She told Prothom Alo, “I’m calling Abbu, Abbu, but he is not answering. Why did someone kill my Abbu?”
Motaleb’s elder daughter, tenth-grader Shamima Jannat, demanded justice. She said, “Why would anyone kill my father? He was only doing his duty to maintain law and order. Why did he have to die?”
His elder son, undergraduate Mehedi Hasan, was silent and stunned. When approached, he shared, “I had a very close relationship with my father. He always reminded us to take care of mother and sisters and encouraged us to study well. Now, without him, we are lost. I don’t know what will happen to us.”
Motaleb’s two brothers, Amir Hossain Bhuiya and Abdus Salam Bhuiya, rushed from Comilla. Amir Hossain said, “My brother was very gentle. His absence leaves an irreplaceable void in our family.”
Motaleb spent more time at work than with his family, and his wife had accepted this because of the nature of his duty. She said, “My husband was patriotic. He could have escaped the terrorists but chose to fight until the end.”
When Motaleb’s body arrived at the RAB-7 office, colleagues gathered in silent grief. His coworker, Tapan Nath, told Prothom Alo, “As a colleague, Motaleb was exceptional. He always cared for his team members.”
