The days were pure chaos. Protests were erupting everywhere, and as the digital chief reporter, I had no choice but to keep my eyes glued to my computer screen or my cellphone, constantly scanning social media for updates

A child steps onto the street from an alley -- only to be shot dead in an instant. A college student lies lifeless in a pool of blood at a city hospital, his phone vibrating with calls from “Maa”. And a “laasher michhil” (procession of bodies) on the streets of Dhaka.

It was Monday, August 5, at exactly 10:46 in the morning when my phone rang. On the other end was a student from Jahangirnagar University, his voice trembling with fear and urgency.

It was a clear moonlit night. There was a slight breeze. An eerie quiet blanketed the streets.

The Daily Star Editor Mahfuz Anam's appeal to the ‘new generation leaders’