Ziaur Rahman assassination convict Major (retd) Mozzafar arrested after 45yrs

He was arrested from the Banani DOHS area of the capital around midnight on Wednesday. After the completion of legal formalities, he was handed over to the Bangladesh Army for court-martial proceedings

Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Detective Branch (DB) has arrested Major (retd) Md Mozzafar Hossain, a convicted assassin of former President Ziaur Rahman Bir Uttam, after he remained a fugitive for more than 45 years. His arrest after more than four decades marks a significant development in one of the country's most high-profile political assassination cases.

He was arrested from the Banani DOHS area of the capital around midnight on Wednesday. After the completion of legal formalities, he was handed over to the Bangladesh Army for court-martial proceedings. DB Additional Commissioner Shafiqul Islam confirmed the arrest to reporters on Thursday afternoon.

On the early morning of May 30, 1981, a group of army officers attacked the Chittagong Circuit House, where then-president Ziaur Rahman was staying, and killed him. 

According to investigation-related sources, Mozzaffar Hossain was among the officers accused of direct involvement in the assassination. Case records and historical accounts allege that he identified Ziaur Rahman and fired at him.

They further claim that, after the assassination, he informed the then General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 24th Infantry Division, Major General Abul Manzoor, by telephone, saying, "The President has been killed."

Soon after the tragic assassination of Bangladesh's head of state; Major General Manzoor, leader of the rebel group, has refused to hand over the body of late President Ziaur Rahman when Chittagong Red Cross officials met him in Chittagong at the request of the Government. According to Justice Shahabuddin, Chairman of the Bangladesh Red Cross Society, the refusal was a violation of the Geneva Convention and the Additional Protocol relating to Non-International Armed Conflicts.

Following the assassination, the army launched an operation to restore control. Major General Abul Manzoor and several others were arrested, while Manzoor was later killed. Captain Mosleh Uddin was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment. However, Mozzaffar Hossain and Major SM Khaled managed to flee.

After the rebellion was suppressed, the bodies of President Ziaur Rahman and the two security officials were recovered from a shallow ditch in Rangunia.

Investigation sources said Mozzaffar remained in hiding in India for an extended period and stayed there between 1997 and 1998. He later allegedly crossed the border using an assumed identity and moved between different locations to evade arrest.