Zia assassination convict held after 45 years

Retired Major Md Mozzafar Hossain, a convicted assassin of former president Ziaur Rahman, has been arrested more than 45 years after going into hiding, according to the Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Detective Branch (DB).

The DB arrested Mozzafar Hossain on Wednesday following decades as a fugitive. After his arrest, he was handed over to the Bangladesh Army.

Ziaur Rahman, who was serving as president of Bangladesh, was assassinated on 30 May 1981 at the Chittagong Circuit House during an attempted military coup. A military tribunal later convicted several army officers over the killing, with a number of them receiving death sentences. Some of the convicted officers were executed, while others remained fugitives for decades.

Authorities said Mozzafar Hossain had evaded arrest for more than 45 years before being traced and detained. No further details about the operation or the circumstances of his arrest were immediately disclosed.

Following his detention by the Detective Branch, he was formally handed over to the Bangladesh Army for further legal proceedings.