2 children battling bitter cold along Ctg roadside rescued, one dies

One of the two children rescued from a roadside amid biting cold in Anwara upazila of Chattogram district has died while undergoing treatment. 

The 14-month-old boy, identified as Morshed, passed away around 3:00 pm on Monday (January 5) at Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Chattogram Medical College Hospital.

The incident came to light on the evening of December 28, when auto-rickshaw driver Mahim Uddin spotted two children shivering by the roadside in the Majorgate area of Barkhain union in Anwara. 

Witnesses said four-year-old Ayesha Akter was seen tightly holding her younger brother to protect him from the severe cold. 

Moved by compassion, Mahim rescued the children and gave them temporary shelter at his home.

The heart-wrenching scene quickly went viral on social media, triggering widespread public reaction. 

The district administration and the Department of Social Services immediately took responsibility for the children. At the time of rescue, the boy’s condition was reported to be critical.

Last Tuesday, Anwara Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Tahmina Akter presented the two children before the Chattogram Deputy Commissioner. 

The administration assumed responsibility for their treatment and related expenses. The girl was later handed over to the custody of rescuer Mahim Uddin, while the seriously ill boy was admitted to hospital. After a week of treatment, he succumbed to his condition.

UNO Tahmina Akter told the media that the deceased child’s grandmother has arrived in Chattogram to receive the body. A decision regarding the handover will be taken in coordination with the Manikchhari UNO.

Meanwhile, police arrested the children’s father, Md Khorshed Alam, from Banshkhali upazila late on the night of December 30. 

A case was filed on December 31 over abandoning the two children, with sub-inspector (Unarmed) Momen Kanti Dey of Anwara Police Station lodging the complaint against both parents—Khorshed Alam and the children’s mother, Jhinuk Akter.

During interrogation, Khorshed Alam reportedly disclosed several details. He said his permanent home is in Mahamani area of Ward no 9 under Lemua union in Manikchhari upazila of Khagrachhari district. 

An auto-rickshaw driver by profession, he also worked intermittently at a scrap shop in Banshkhali. He claimed that due to family disputes and his wife’s alleged immoral activities, he was forced out of the family home and later moved to a rented house in Laskarpara area of Miabazar in the upazila.

Khorshed further alleged that around five to six months ago, his wife left home with their two children, taking household items and around Tk 18,000 in cash. 

Since then, he said, he had no contact with them. He also claimed that his wife used their disabled child for begging, for which he had previously been fined at different places. 
According to police, he said the children’s maternal home is in Maulvir Dokan area under Satkania police station.