Monu Mia (67), a humble man from Algapara village in Joysiddhi Union, Itna upazila of Kishoreganj district—known across the area as a 'gravedigger'—has passed away.
He died at his home at 10:00am on Saturday, casting a shadow of grief over the local community.
Joyshiddhi Union Parishad Panel Chairman Md Bahauddin Thakur confirmed the news of his death.
Over his lifetime, Monu Mia dug more than 3,057 graves—never once accepting any payment or reward. While alive, he often said he performed the work solely to get mercy from Allah.
Dhaka-based lawyer and native of the area, Advocate Sheikh Mohammad Rokon Reza, shared that Monu Mia had been hospitalised recently due to illness. During his treatment, miscreants cruelly killed his beloved horse, which had been his faithful companion for many years. The incident left him devastated.
“I visited him in hospital and told him that many people wanted to gift him a new horse,” Reza recalled. “But he simply replied, ‘I do this work to please Allah. I do not want to take anything from anyone.’”
Chairman Bahauddin Thakur said Monu Mia’s health declined rapidly after the horse’s death. Although he returned home after treatment, he never recovered fully. “With his passing, we have lost a kind-hearted, selfless soul—someone whose absence can never truly be filled,” he said.
FP/MI