A heart-wrenching tragedy has devastated a family in Fatikchhari, Chattogram, as two brothers died in a road accident while bringing home the body of a third brother, who had died in Saudi Arabia a year ago following alleged torture.
Mohammad Rubel (27) had gone to Saudi Arabia in 2024 with hopes of supporting his family financially. However, he reportedly suffered a brutal assault over a minor dispute involving food and died in hospital care on 17 July last year.
After nearly a year of legal and diplomatic procedures, his body was finally repatriated on Saturday.
Rubel’s elder brother Mohammad Babul (37) and cousin Osman Gani (35) traveled to Dhaka airport to receive the body.
But tragedy struck again as the ambulance carrying Rubel’s body was hit in a fatal road accident in Batisa, Cumilla. Both Babul and Osman died on the spot.
As the grim news reached their home in Talukdarpara village of Fatikchhari upazila, grief engulfed the entire community.
Hundreds gathered in the dead of night to witness the heartbreaking return of all three bodies. The mother, Anwara Begum, collapsed in anguish upon seeing her sons` coffins, wailing, “Didn’t you ask me to look after father? Just speak once… only once.”
Rubel and Babul were sons of Ful Mia, who is also severely ill and further devastated by the sudden loss. The grief-stricken household echoed with the cries of wives, children, and neighbors, as the family faced the unimaginable loss of its primary earners.
Rubel’s widow and Babul’s wife, along with their young children, were inconsolable. Osman’s wife, Nusrat Jahan Shima, who has three children, said her husband had spoken to her moments before the crash, not knowing it would be his last call.
The three were laid to rest side by side near the village mosque late Saturday night, turning the quiet village into a valley of mourning. The tragedy leaves behind broken families, unanswered questions, and a community united in sorrow.
