Sabina Sheikh, the grieving mother of Tamanna Khatun, the schoolgirl killed in a bomb attack by alleged Trinamool supporters in Molandi village under Kaliganj Assembly constituency area in Nadia on June 23, on Monday planted a kamini tree at the very place where the girl died in her memory.

Tamanna, had she lived, would have turned 10 on Monday.

The kamini tree, Sabina said, would serve as a living tribute to her daughter’s memory and a symbol of resistance against violence in Molandi.

“My daughter will be remembered through this kamini tree,” Sabina said. “This tree symbolises her sacrifice against the violence that Molandi has been witnessing for long, and a voice to demand justice. I hope good sense prevails among the police and they show sincere alacrity to arrest all the accused persons involved in the murder of
my daughter.”

The event, supported by members of the West Bengal Migrant Workers’ Union, was organised as a protest in Tamanna’s memory.

Tamanna was hit by a bomb thrown by alleged Trinamool supporters during a victory march on the day Kaliganj bypoll results were announced.

Reportedly, as soon as Trinamool supporters in Molandi came to know that their party was in the lead during counting, they took out victory processions with explosives to intimidate CPM sympathisers in the village.

The union’s Nadia district secretary Debasish Acharya strongly criticised the silence of the Trinamool state leadership, including Mamata Banerjee, on the issue.

“It is a shame that the chief minister who has launched a so-called language movement did not bother to utter a single word for Tamanna so far. She can never feel the pain of a mother,” Acharya said.

Following the tree plantation, Sabina joined a gathering of about 500 children at the Plassey cinema hall ground for a sit-and-draw event dedicated to Tamanna, who was known for her love of colors and painting.

Sabina distributed payesh to the children, who showcased artworks created in memory of her daughter.

Renowned artist Manish Deb, who earlier visited Tamanna’s home and painted a mural in her room, also joined the children with his paintbrush in hand.

A blood donation camp was also held and children were gifted saplings with a request to plant and name them “Tamanna”, turning their personal tribute into a collective call for peace and justice.