Ziaur Rahman assassination: Fugitive Maj Mozaffar arrested in Dhaka after 45yrs

Collected Photo

The Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrested retired Major Md Mozaffar Hossain, one of the key plotters behind the assassination of late President Ziaur Rahman. The fugitive was apprehended from the capital’s Banani DOHS area at midnight yesterday after evading justice for 45 years.

Following primary legal procedures, he was handed over to the Bangladesh Army for a court-martial.

On the early morning of May 30, 1981, a group of unruly army officers attacked the Chittagong Circuit House and assassinated the then President Ziaur Rahman. Major Mozaffar Hossain and Captain Mosleh Uddin were among the officers who directly participated in the killing.

According to various historical and case records, Major Mozaffar was the first to identify President Ziaur Rahman and shot him directly.

After confirming the death, he called Major General Abul Manzur, the then GOC of the 24th Infantry Division in Chittagong Cantonment, and reported, ‘The President has been killed.’

Following the assassination, the army launched an operation to restore control. Major General Abul Manzur and several others were arrested, and Manzur was later killed.

Captain Mosleh Uddin was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment. However, Major Mozaffar Hossain and Major SM Khaled managed to flee.

Investigation sources revealed that Major Mozaffar Hossain hid in India for a long period, staying there from 1997 to 1998. Later, he used pseudonyms to cross borders and travel to various places.

The DB police finally apprehended him after he spent 45 years in hiding. His arrest marks a significant breakthrough in one of the country’s most talked-about political assassination cases. Next legal actions against him will be taken through the army’s own judicial process.