Ramna Batamul blast: Disguised as imam, death row convict Shafiqur hid in Narsingdi char

Mufti Shafiqur Rahman, a fugitive death row convict in the 2001 Ramna Batamul blast case, was hiding in a remote char area in Narsingdi with a new name and identity.

He has been serving as an Imam of a mosque with a fake name "Abdul Karim". Even, he had collected his national ID card under his new name, to dodge the eyes of law enforcers, said Khandaker Al Moin, Rab's Legal and Media wing director today.

Shafiqur, a top leader of Harkatul Jihad al Islami Bangladesh (Huji-B), was arrested from Bhairab upazila in Kishorganj yesterday, he said.

He was also awarded life imprisonment in a case filed following the August 21 grenade attack on a rally of the then opposition Awami League at Bangabandhu Avenue in Dhaka in 2004, said the Rab official.

Moin said the convict stopped communicating with his family members and relatives after going into hiding in 2008 in Narsingdi. Before that, he had been staying in different places.

He, however, used to meet his son occasionally going far away from his living place in Narsingdi.

"Shafiqur was not directly involved in the militant outfit in recent time but he used to preach misleading and inciting speeches in the name of religion in his locality," the Rab director said adding he was one of the planners in the Ramna Batamul blast.

Ten people were killed and dozens were injured after two bombs went off during the celebrations of Bangla New Year, 1408 (on April 14, 2001). 

In June 2014, a Dhaka court handed down the death penalty to eight militants of Harkatul Jihad al Islami Bangladesh (Huji-B), including Mufti Shafiqur and its top leader Mufti Abdul Hannan.

Six other militants of the banned outfit were sentenced to life imprisonment for their involvement in the blasts.