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A bullet pierced the youth�s head, shattering his dreams

By MANASH PRATIM DUTTA

BARPETA, Dec 11 - Sanidul Islam nurtured a dream to pursue higher education and build a successful career overcoming all financial hindrances. But, a bullet fired by security personnel during the anti-CAA protest on December 12 last year in Hatigaon area of Guwahati, changed the life of the 17-year-old forever.

During that time, Sanidul, a resident of Bhoiraguri village of Barpeta district, was preparing for the High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) examination. In the early part of December 2019, he went to Guwahati to spend some days with his relatives residing in Hatigaon area of the capital city.

On December 12, the anti-CAA protest was at its peak across the State and the law and order situation in Guwahati was spinning out of control. On that evening, a section of people in Hatigaon organised a protest rally and Sanidul came out to watch it. Suddenly, security personnel opened fire to stop the protest march and a bullet hit Sanidul in the head.

�The bullet pierced the upper side of his head and some people immediately rushed him to the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH). He was under treatment at the GMCH for 10 days. Although doctors released him from the hospital, he did not recover completely.

�As a consequence, he developed some infection in the brain. For further treatment, I took him to West Bengal, where doctors carried out a major brain surgery,� Sanidul�s uncle Muslem Khan told this correspondent when the latter visited their home recently.

The injury caused the left side of Sanidul�s body to become partially paralysed and he is yet to recover from the trauma. After the injury, he could not continue his studies as he lost the ability to memorise his lessons. His hearing capacity decreased drastically. Very often, he complained of headache and stomach pain, and he is suffering from skin disease, too.

�Due to the injury, he could not appear for the HSLC examination this year. As he is yet to get recover from the trauma, this time, too, he did not fill up the form,� Sanidul�s mother Majeda Begum said. Sanidul was a student of BKF High School in Barpeta. In the Class IX final examination, he scored over 50 per cent marks in all subjects.

�His future as a student is completely dark. The family is very worried about it. He was a mediocre student and active in every work. But, now he has lost his mental strength,� Muslem Khan said.

Sanidul belongs to a below poverty line (BPL) family and his father, the sole breadwinner of the family, is a farmer. The family members said that till date, they have spent around Rs 20 lakh in the treatment of Sanidul. To meet the expenses, they had borrowed money from several persons of the locality and some public organizations also helped them a lot. There has not been any financial help from the side of the State government, though.

�My son is not a criminal. He didn�t harm anyone. He doesn�t even know much about the CAA. On that day, he just came on to the street to have a look at the protest. For the past one year, he has been suffering a lot. Now we are clueless as to how to give him a new lease of life.

�We will be grateful if the State government helps him overcome the challenges,� Sanidul�s mother lamented.

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