Death-row convict in gang-rape case arrested after 28 years

Staff Reporter :
After nearly 28 years in hiding, the main accused in the gang-rape and murder case has been arrested from Gachha in Gazipur district.
The members of elite force RAB-3 has arrested Razzak alias Zakir Hossain (60) in a special raid on Saturday night.
RAB-3 captain Lt. Col. Arif Mohiuddan Ahmed said it in a press conference held at RAB-3’s office in Tikatuli of the capital on Sunday noon.
He said that after questioning the accused, we find out that Razzak lived with his wife and children in Hapunia village of Kalmakanda Police Station in Netrokona district before the incident. He often quarreled with his wife for engaging in immoral activities. At one point his wife left him with their only child.
After his wife and children left, he used to commit various misdemeanors including theft and robbery in the area with the youths of the village.
After that Razzak along with 12 others raped a 14-year-old neighbour girl and then strangled her to death in Netrokona district on April 14, 1995. Police later found the body wrapped inside a sack from the area.
Quoting the case statement, the RAB official said the victim’s father filed a case against 10 people, citing Razzak as the prime accused.
A court sentenced five including Razzak to death and seven others to life imprisonment in 2002.
The RAB official said Razzak fled to Dhaka’s Kuril area from Netrokona after the rape and murder in 1995 and started working there as a rickshaw-puller. In guise, he worked in different areas of the city and after six years Razzak went to Gazipur’s Gachha area and changed his name to Zakir.
He even managed to secure an NID card against the fake name and address.