Zia assassin held after 45yrs

Detectives have arrested retired Major Md Mozzaffar Hossain, a fugitive convict in the assassination case of former President Ziaur Rahman, after more than 45 years on the run.

Police arrested him during a drive in the Banani DOHS area around midnight on Wednesday, DMP Additional Commissioner and Chief of the Detective Branch (DB) Md Shafiqul Islam told reporters on Thursday.

After completing the necessary legal formalities, he was handed over to the Bangladesh Army for court martial proceedings, police said.

Mozzaffar Hossain had remained absconding since President Ziaur Rahman was assassinated by a group of dissident army officers at Chattogram Circuit House on May 30, 1981.

Police said he was among the military officers involved in the assassination. According to investigators and case records, Major Mozzaffar Hossain and Captain Mosleh Uddin took part in the attack.

Following the assassination, Major General MA Manzur and several other officers were arrested. Captain Mosleh Uddin was later sentenced to life imprisonment, while Major Mozzaffar Hossain and Major SM Khaled managed to flee.

Replying to a query, Shafiqul Islam said Mozzaffar Hossain had remained a fugitive for the past 45 years. He said Major General MA Manzur and several other officers involved in the coup fled Chattogram Cantonment on the night of the assassination.

On June 1, reports emerged that Lt Col Matiur Rahman and Lt Col Mehbubur Rahman, both involved in the coup, had been killed by government-loyal troops while attempting to flee Chattogram.

A reward of Tk 500,000 was announced for Manzur's capture. He was eventually captured at a tea garden in Fatikchhari on June 2 and taken to a police station. A government statement later said he had been killed by a group of unruly soldiers at the cantonment.

Eighteen Army officers were subsequently tried on charges of mutiny. Thirteen were sentenced to death, while the remaining officers received prison terms of varying lengths. Major SM Khaled and Major Mozzaffar Hossain, however, escaped, prompting authorities to announce a reward for their capture. 

Amid the standoff, the then Army chief, Hussain Muhammad Ershad, who later became president, ordered the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of Chattogram Cantonment, Major General MA Manzur, and all others involved in the coup to surrender by noon on May 31.