Bangabandhu killer Abdul Mazed sent to jail after arrest in Dhaka

Abdul Mazed, a key fugitive convict in the killing of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, has been sent to jail following his arrest in Dhaka.

Kamal Talukderbdnews24.com
Published : 7 April 2020, 10:31 AM
Updated : 7 April 2020, 11:10 AM

Judge AM Zulfikar Hayat of Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court passed the order after the convict was produced before the court on Tuesday.

Abdul Mazed, a key fugitive convict in the killing of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was sent to jail following his arrest on Tuesday.

No lawyer represented Mazed in court, said Jafor Hossain, deputy commissioner of DMP's Prosecution Division.

Mazed was subsequently taken to Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj, he added.

A special team of the counter-terrorism unit apprehended Mazed from the capital's Mirpur-11 in the early hours of Tuesday, Deputy Commissioner Masudur Rahman of Dhaka Metropolitan Police told bdnews24.com.

Reports in the media at various times over the last four decades indicated that Mazed was hiding in neighbouring India.

On whether he had been extradited by India, Home Minister Asaduzzaman had said, "We found him in Bangladesh. Maybe fears over the coronavirus forced him to return."

The home minister later hailed the arrest as the "biggest gift of Mujib Year" and thanked everyone involved in the process.

"Mazed didn't just participate in the assassination of Bangabandhu but we know he also took part in the jail killing of the four national leaders,” Khan said in a video message.

"After Bangabandhu’s murder, he worked at Bangabhaban and other places following the instructions of Ziaur Rahman. We now hope to execute his sentence as per the court's directives.”

The Father of the Nation was killed along with most of his family members on Aug 15 in 1975 at his home in Dhanmondi 32. His daughters Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana survived as they were abroad at the time.

But the investigation into the deaths was stopped through an Indemnity Ordinance, which had saved the self-proclaimed killers from facing justice

The ordinance was abrogated in November, 1996 when the Awami League returned to power, paving the way to bringing the killers to justice.

After a lengthy trial, the court convicted 12 suspects and awarded them the death penalty in 2010.

Out of these self-proclaimed killers, five were hanged on Jan 28, 2010. They were-- Syed Faruque Rahman, Sultan Shahariar Rashid Khan, Bazlul Huda, Mohiuddin Ahmed and AKM Mohiuddin.

Mazed is one of six absconding convicts along with Abdur Rashid, Shariful Haque Dalim, M Rashed Chowdhury, SHMB Noor Chowdhury and Risaldar Moslemuddin.

After five other killers were executed eight years ago, Interpol had issued “red corner notices” for the absconding death-row convicts in 2009. The notices have been renewed every five years.