Dhaka, July 1 -- "Ei shohore pakhider ghum bhange gulir shobde Ei shohore chhatro pore thake mogoj bhorti baruder gondhe"

Or

"In this city, the birds' sleep breaks at the sound of gunfire

In this city, students lie with brains soaked in the smell of gunpowder."

These were the words of Kazi Ashraf Ahmed Riaz -- known by his pen name "Rishi Kabbo" -- in a poem he posted on Facebook on Jul 29, as bodies filled morgues and casualties overwhelmed hospitals in a terrified Dhaka under curfew.

Two days later, his body was discovered at his flat in Mohammadpur's Bosila.

The mystery surrounding his death remains unsolved.

It was in July 2024 that a protest, smouldering for over a decade, finally erupted into a national wildfire.

The quota r...