Murder convict living in disguise for 20 years, finally arrested

After 20 years of living in disguise, police have finally arrested the murder convict in the Jaane Alam murder case in Chattogram.

He has been living in Chattogram under the disguise of a chef, a security guard, and a vagabond, among other disguises. His name is Syed Ahmed.

The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested him from the Akbar Shah police station area of the port city on Thursday. Assistant Director (media) of RAB-7 Nurul Absar confirmed the matter on Friday.

On the morning of 30 March 2002, Jaane Alam was brutally hacked to death. Tazbirul Alam, the eldest son of the deceased, filed a murder case against 21 people at Lohagara police station in Chattogram district.

On 24 July 2007, the trial court announced the verdict in the case. The verdict sentenced 12 people, including Syed Ahmed, to death, while eight people were given life imprisonment.

The convicts appealed against the verdict of the trial court. On appeal, 10 people including Syed Ahmed were sentenced to death, two to life imprisonment, and the rest were acquitted.

RAB officer Nurul Absar said Syed Ahmed was initially questioned after his arrest. During the interrogation, he gave details about his fugitive life.

Syed Ahmed said that after the murder of Jane Alam, he went into hiding with the bandits of Banshkhali in Chattogram.

For the first four to five years Syed Ahmed left his family and relatives and started living in Banshkhali, Anwara, Kutubdia, Pekuia Sagar coastal area. Later, he stayed as a refugee in the Sitakunda area of Chattogram.

Syed Ahmed at one stage started living permanently in Jungle Chhalimpur under the guidance of Mashiur, the chief of the Mashiur force. Ahmed did not feel safe in the area due to the operation of the law enforcement agencies. This time he started cooking in different shrine areas in Chattogram.

At one stage, Ahmed started working under the guise of a security guard at a house in the Akbarshah police station area of Chattogram metropolis and started living there permanently.

According to RAB, while on the run, Syed Ahmed forged two fake national identity cards. He stopped communicating with his family and relatives. As a result, he could not be identified in any way.

The arrested Syed Ahmed has been handed over to Lohagara police station, said RAB officer Nurul Absar.