Syed Mobarak Hossain Kawsar had been living in Italy for 20 years and his wife and three children were in Dhaka. After obtaining the green card, Mobarak came to Bangladesh to bring his family to Italy with him. Their flight was scheduled for March 10.
Just days before going to Italy with his family, Syed Mobarak Hossain decided to take them out to dinner at Kacchi Bhai, a popular biryani outlet in Bailey Road.
But the family of five lost their lives in the devastating fire that swept through the restaurant located in the seven-storey Green Cozy Cottage building.
The dead are Syed Mobarak Hossain, 50, his wife Sapna Akter, 35, and their three children, Syeda Kasfia, 15, Syeda Noor, 12, and Syed Abdullah, 8.
Syed Gausul Azam, Mobarak’s brother-in-law, shared the story at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital while preparing to claim their bodies on Friday.
He said everything was set --the passports, the visas and the air tickets. Their flight was scheduled for March 10. So, they decided to celebrate together at the restaurant.
“Mobarak had also invited me to join them. I too would have been among the dead had I gone with them” he said in a choking voice.
Syed Mobarak Hossain Kawsar hails from Shahbazpur area of Sarail police station in Brahmanbaria. Mobarak is the second of three brothers in the family.
When the news of their death spread, a shadow of mourning fell in Shahbazpur area of Sarail police station of Brahmanbaria district.
Syed Helena Begum, the mother of the deceased in Mobarak, said “The entire family, including my
son, died in the fire. What else will I do with my life? Allah would have taken me without taking my son. How can I mourn this?”
The family is mourning. Relatives, neighbours and all came to the deceased’s house and offered condolences to the bereaved family. They were buried in Shahbazpur village at their family graveyard.