Pori Banu has lost everything. Her husband, auto-rickshaw driver Golam Hossain Apon (48), was brutally murdered in front of her eyes during a violent clash between two factions of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in Rajshahi. 

Now, she is left alone, struggling to survive in a rented house in the city with no means to support herself.

On the evening of March 7, Golam Hossain stepped out of their home to buy medicine. Less than thirty minutes later, someone informed Pori Banu that her husband was being attacked. She rushed to the scene near the Jolapara Jubo Dal office in Dorikhorbona, only to witness a nightmare unfolding before her.

Golam Hossain was not involved in politics. Yet, he became a victim of political violence when two BNP groups clashed in Rajshahi's Dorikhorbona area. 

The violence had erupted following a police raid on Awami League leader Mustak Ahmed Babu's flat, when the leader managed to escape and his brother Sabbir Babu was arrested. 

Former Jubo Dal leader Maruf Hossain later accused Lovely of helping Mustak escape, triggering clashes between their supporters, locals said.

They clashed for nearly four hours, setting fire to motorcycles and hurling crude bombs.

Golam Hossain was mistaken to have belonged to one of the factions and was attacked by a group of men with sharp weapons. He was left bleeding on the street before being taken to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital. He fought for his life for four days. On March 11, he succumbed to his injuries, leaving behind his devastated wife.

Attempts to contact BNP leader Lovely Begum, the assistant sports secretary of Rajshahi Mohanagar Mohila Dal, went unanswered, as her phone was found switched off.

Boalia Police Station's Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mustak Ahmed confirmed that a case has been filed against six named individuals and 15–20 unidentified suspects. The accused include Md Shohel Rana (50), Naim (40), Sumon Sarder (50), Mir Tarek (50), Faizur Rahman Fai (50), and Md Roni (38).

According to the case statement filed at Boalia Police Station on March 13, Sumon Sarder, one of the accused, had ordered the attack.

With her only source of financial support gone, Pori Banu now faces an uncertain future. 

"My husband was killed right in front of me, and I couldn't do anything," she told The Daily Star.

"Even at the hospital, BNP leader Lovely Begum's men tried to stop his treatment. They treated us terribly," she alleged.

She now lives alone in a rented house, uncertain how she will pay for basic necessities, let alone bear the legal expenses of seeking justice.

"I don't know how I will survive now. The only earning member of my family is gone. How will I even afford the court proceedings?" she said.

Although Golam made a living driving an auto-rickshaw, he never stopped dreaming of a better future for his family. Three years ago, he managed to marry off his daughter, Rakhi Akter, despite financial struggles. 

With borrowed money, he sent his son, Rakibul Hasan, to Dubai, hoping for a brighter tomorrow. For the past ten years, he and his wife have lived in a small tin-roofed house by the railway tracks in Dorikhorbona, paying a monthly rent of two thousand taka.

As political disputes continue, Pori Banu is left to pick up the shattered pieces of her life. 

"I have no one. No money. No support. I just want justice for my husband," she said.