Mahbub Piyal, Faridpur 

"Pray for me, Ma; I am going on an operation against criminals tomorrow afternoon." These final words of 28-year-old army soldier Titas Sheikh echo relentlessly in the mind of his grieving mother, Rekha Begum, as a heavy pall of sorrow descends upon their home in Laskardia village under Nagarkanda upazila of Faridpur.

Titas was killed on Thursday evening after being struck by bullets fired by armed criminals during a joint security operation against a human-trafficking syndicate in Teknaf, Cox's Bazar. News of his death has plunged his family into profound grief, leaving his mother in unending tears, his wife, Sumaiya Akter, inconsolable, and his father, retired army personnel Afzal Sheikh, struck numb with shock.

Family members shared that Titas called his mother on Wednesday night, asking for her blessings ahead of the deployment. Little did the family know that it would be their final conversation.

The household presented a heart-wrenching scene on Friday morning as relatives and neighbors gathered to offer condolences. Rekha Begum wept uncontrollably, clutching memories of her eldest son, while Sumaiya—married to Titas for four years with no children—lamented through tears, "How am I supposed to live without you? Take me with you, O Allah, what am I to do now?"

Titas hailed from a dedicated military family; his father served in the army, and his younger brother, Akram Hossain, is currently an active-duty soldier. Following in his father's footsteps, Titas enlisted as a soldier in 2017 and served with the 1st Bengal Regiment at the Rangikhali army camp in Teknaf. He had planned to bring his wife to his duty station this coming December, a future that has now been tragically cut short.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Titas was struck in the upper left side of his chest by extremist gunfire during the anti-trafficking drive around 4:30 pm on Thursday. He was initially rushed to the Leda IRC Rohingya Hospital before being transferred via civilian ambulance to the CMH  in Ramu, where attending physicians pronounced him dead at 8:48 pm. His younger brother, Akram Hossain, rushed to Ramu CMH to retrieve his mortal remains.