Fugitive convicted in Ziaur Rahman assassination case arrested after 45 years

The Detective Branch (DB) of police has arrested retired Major Md. Mozzaffar Hossain, a fugitive convicted in the assassination case of former President Ziaur Rahman.

DB chief Md. Shafiqul Islam said the retired major was arrested from Banani on Wednesday night.

Mozzaffar had been on the run for the past 45 years.

Ziaur Rahman was Bangladesh's sixth president, a former Chief of Army Staff, and a freedom fighter.

On 29 May 1981, Ziaur Rahman traveled to Chattogram on an official visit. In the early hours of 30 May, he was assassinated by a group of army personnel at the Chattogram Circuit House. The assailants buried his body in a remote forested area of Raozan in Chattogram.

Three days later, his body was recovered and brought to Dhaka. Millions attended his funeral prayers at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, and he was later laid to rest on the grounds of the National Parliament.