‘Assassin’ of B’desh ex-prez Ziaur Rehman held after 45 yrs
DHAKA: Former Bangladesh army Major Muzaffar Hossain – allegedly one of the masterminds and assassins of PM Tarique Rahman’s father and former President Ziaur Rahman – has been arrested after being at large for 45 years.The arrest of Hossain – identified in historical records and case documents as the man who allegedly fired the fatal shots at the President at the Chittagong Circuit House on May 30, 1981 – marks the six-month-old Tarique-led BNP govt’s first major breakthrough in its promised pursuit of Ziaur Rahman’s assassins.The former officer was arrested from the Banani DOHS area of Dhaka at midnight Wednesday, Dhaka Metropolitan Detective Police said. Govt sources said police, after completing legal formalities, has handed over Hossain to Bangladesh army to complete his pending court martial procedures.In the early hours of May 30, 1981, a group of mid-ranking army officers attacked the circuit house and killed Ziaur Rahman – founder of governing BNP. Hossain and Captain Mosleh Uddin were among the officers directly involved in the assassination, officials claimed.
