Kazi Aref murder: Death-row convict arrested after long 22 years
PBC News: Rawhsan Ali, a death-row convict in Liberation War organiser Kazi Aref Ahmed murder case, had been absconding for long 22 years changing his name and address, said the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on Thursday (August 19).
Apart from the killing of founder-member of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) Kazi Aref Ahmed, death-row convict and ‘serial killer’ Rawshan had direct involvement in the killing of six to seven more persons including a local UP chairman, said the RAB.
RAB’s Legal and Media Wing Director Khondker Al Moin told reporters at a press conference at the RAB Media Centre in Dhaka on Thursday that Rawshan, who hails from Meherpur district, lived in many districts assuming different identities during the years he has been on the run.
Following the killing of Kazi Aref and four other Kushtia district leaders of JSD at a rally at Kalidaspur Govt Primary School ground under Daulatpur upazila in broad-daylight on February 16, 1999, Rawshan, one of the killers–went into hiding.
Subsequently, he went Rajshahi district and secured National Identity Card in the new name of Uday Mondol changing his name and address. He also set up a cattle firm in Rajshahi.
On August 30, 2004, a Kushtia district and sessions judge court pronounced death penalty for 10 accused and gave life imprisonment to 12 others after police submitted a charge-sheet accusing 29 persons in Kazi Aref Ahmed murder case filed with Daulatpur Police Station.
On August 5, 2008, the convicts filed an appeal to the High Court. The court upheld the death penalty of nine accused and acquitted the rest 13 accused.
On January 8, 2016, three of the death-row convicts –Shafayet Hossain Habib, Anwar Hossain and Rashedul Islam Jhantu — were executed at Jessore Central Jail, while another death-row convict died in jail.
All three death-row convicts were top members of the outlawed Purbo Bangla Communist Party (PBCP-Laltu).
As other five death-row convicts have been absconding for a long time, RAB took the initiative to find them out. They continued the vigilance through their intelligence unit.
