Five years after completing his prison sentence for the high-profile murder of BUET student Sabekun Nahar Sony, Mushfiq Uddin Togor has once again been arrested in Dhaka -- this time on charges of involvement in the illegal arms trade.
He was apprehended with firearms on Thursday in the Azimpur area under Lalbagh Police Station, the Rapid Action Batallion said, reports bdnews24.com.
According to the elite counterterrorism unit, he had been collecting weapons illegally from border areas and supplying them to people in the capital.
He was released from Kashimpur prison on Aug 20, 2020, after serving his sentence in the Sony murder case.
During the arrest, RAB seized a 32mm revolver, a magazine, a wooden pistol grip, 155 rounds of .22 rifle bullets, a 7.62mm misfire bullet, an empty shotgun cartridge, two masks and two mobile phones.
“When arresting Togor, we did not initially evaluate the Sony murder case. We went to recover the weapons, but later we learnt that he was an accused in that case,” said RAB-3 Commander Lt Col Fayezul Arefin.
Togor was first arrested on Jun 24, 2002, in connection with Sony’s killing. He told RAB he had been living a normal life since his release in 2020.
At a press conference at the RAB Media Centre in Karwan Bazar on Friday, Arefin said: “During initial interrogation, sensational information was obtained from him. Based on the information he provided, our weapons recovery operations will continue.”
He added that a case over the weapons was being prepared at Lalbagh Police Station.
“Considering the overall situation, I understand that he may have more weapons,” he said.
“We arrested him just yesterday. We have received several numbers, we will work on them.”
Asked about political affiliations, Arefin said: “A criminal is a criminal. No party accepts him. We are considering him as a criminal. We are investigating in detail what we find from him.”
He also said there is a drug case against Togor at Mugda Police Station.
“He was released after completing his sentence in the Sony murder case. Now, he will be arrested again in the weapons case and sent to court,” Arefin added.
On Jun 8, 2002, Sony, a student in the 1999 batch of BUET’s chemical engineering department, was shot dead in a clash between two factions of the Chhatra Dal over a tender at the university.
After a prolonged legal battle, the lower court sentenced Togor, along with two others -- Mukammel Hayat Khan Muki and Sagar -- to death.
On Mar 10, 2006, the High Court overturned the death sentences and instead sentenced them to life imprisonment. The court also acquitted others, including SM Masum Billah and Masum.
While Muki fled to Australia, and Sagar remained at large, Togor had been imprisoned. Rab did not disclose details about when he was released.
