Abu Sayed (student activist)

Abu Sayed (আবু সাঈদ; 16 July 2024) was a Bangladeshi student activist who was shot dead by the Bangladesh Police on 16 July 2024, while protesting against verdict on quota reinstatement in government jobs in front of Begum Rokeya University Rangpur, Bangladesh.

Early life
Abu Sayed's grew up in Babanpur village of Pirganj upazila of Rangpur, then part of Rajshahi Division. His father is Maqbul Hossain and his mother is Monowara Begum. He was the youngest from a family of six brothers and three sisters. He won a talent pool scholarship from the local Junuder Para Government Primary School in the fifth grade. Later, he passed SSC with a Golden GPA-5 from Khalashpi Bimukhi High School. Then he passed HSC from Rangpur Government College with a GPA-5. Later he was admitted to the English department at Begum Rokeya University. He was a 12th batch student of English Department of Begum Rokeya University.

2024 Bangladesh quota reform movement
Abu Sayed was an activist of Bangladesh quota reform movements of 2013 and 2018. After the new quota reform movement started on 6 June 2024, he joined the movement as the coordinator of Rangpur Begum Rokeya University. He played a leading role in Rangpur University and the quota movement in the Rangpur region. He gave a Facebook post on 15 July 2024, referring to Mohammad Shamsuzzoha, a martyr in the 1969 East Pakistan mass uprising,"Sir! I need you very much right now sir! All your contemporaries are dead. But you are immortal even when you die. Your tomb is our inspiration. We are manifested in your consciousness. You too will die at some point according to the laws of nature. But live with a backbone as long as you live. Support fair demands, take to the streets, and stand as a shield for students. You will get real respect and honor. Don't get lost in time immediately after death. Ajanm will live through Shamsujjoha. It is much more joy, honor and pride to die at least as a 'Shamsujjoha'."

Death
On 16 July, between 2:30 and 3:00 pm, quota reform protesters and police clashed in front of Begum Rokeya University. Police fired tear gas and baton-charged to disperse students. Most of the students left while Abu Sayed remained. The policemen were firing rubber bullets from the opposite direction. He held a stick and he was trying to resist the bullets. At one stage, he spread his chest to the police and got shot by a policeman, and subsequently fell down. He died before being taken to the hospital.

Legacy
The poet Shahidullah Faraji wrote a poem named after him called বীর আবু সায়েদ (lit. 'Hero Abu Sayed'), the hero of the generation, to the quota movement. The name of Rangpur Park intersection was changed to Shaheed Abu Sayed Chatwar by the students in his honour.