CID arrests accused in Liza Akhter murder case after 17 months

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has arrested an accused in the murder case of Liza Akhter, who was shot dead during the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement in the capital's Shantinagar area.

The arrest was made after one year and five months of the incident. The arrestee is Mahtab Hossain Rudra (25), son of Kohidur Rahman and Maseda Begum, a resident of Rameshwar Sharma village under Ulipur upazila in Kurigram district.

He was arrested at around 2:30am today (7 January) from the Nabinagar Housing area under Mohammadpur Police Station by a joint operational team of CID's Dhaka Metro South Unit and LIC Branch, said special superintendent of Police (SP) of CID (Media).

According to case details, on 18 July 2024, at around 5pm, violence erupted at Shantinagar Mor and Siddheshwari New Circular Road area under Ramna Police Station during the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement. At that time, Liza Akhter, who was standing on the balcony of a 14th-floor flat of Kanif Tower, was hit by a bullet.

She was rushed to hospital in a critical condition and later died on 22 July 22 2024, while undergoing treatment at Popular Hospital in Dhanmondi.

Following the incident, Ramna Model Police Station (DMP) registered a case on 5 September 2024 under sections 143/147/323/307/302/114/34 of the Penal Code along with sections 3/4/6 of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908.

Preliminary investigation revealed that on the day of the incident, accused Mahtab Hossain Rudra was present with helmet-wearing Awami League activists, including local leader Mostafa Zaman Papi, and took part in violent activities aimed at suppressing the movement.

After the incident, the accused went into hiding. Based on a tip-off, CID arrested him from the Mohammadpur area.

The case is currently under investigation, and further legal action will be taken upon completion of the probe.