Syed Shemul Parvez :
Major Syed Ziaul Haque alias Major Zia, who was expelled from the army, started his fugitive life in 2011. More than a decade has elapsed since then.
It is learnt that the fugitive Zia has been leading the two banned militant groups Ansarullah Bangla Team and Ansar Al Islam since his escape as military commander. He was also involved with multiple target killings from 2013 to 2016. A total of 11 cases have been registered against him.
He was sentenced to death in six cases, including the murders of bloggers Rajib Haider, Abhijit Roy, Niladri Niloy and Julhaj-Tanay.
Law enforcement officials believe Zia is a clever man, skilled in using information technology and has a sound physique. He was a smart officer in the army. For this reason, it was easy for him to evade the eyes of the law enforcement agencies. It was not difficult for him to stay in remote areas. Yet his location was identified several times. But he could not be captured .
On Monday (December 20th), the US State Department’s Rewards for Justice Department announced a five million reward for information about Zia’s whereabouts, amounting to about Tk 44 crore in Bangladeshi currency.
After the announcement of the award, Zia’s name caught the attention of all.
However, on August 2, 2016, a reward of Tk 20 lakh was announced from the Bangladesh Police Headquarters.
According to the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Major Syed Ziaul Haque alias Major Zia, who was expelled from the army, is not sure where he is at the moment.
Earlier, it was reported that Major Zia, a fugitive militant accused on death row, was in the country. We suspect he is out of the country now.
This was stated by RAB spokesperson Khandaker Al Moin at a press conference held at RAB Media Center in Karwan Bazar on Wednesday afternoon.
RAB spokesman Khandaker Al Moin said the RAB had worked to find Major Zia in various ways after the assassination of Avijit. Major Zia has recently been linked to the banned militant group Ansar al-Islam. The RAB is still trying to trace him.
