Sony murder convict Tagar turned to arms trade after his release from prison: RAB
RAB-3 arrested Tagar yesterday afternoon in Dhaka’s Azimpur area during an arms-recovery drive
Md Mushfiq Uddin Tagar, a convict in the 2002 murder of Buet student Sabekun Nahar Sony near Dhaka University, became involved in the illegal arms trade following his release from prison after serving his jail term, smuggling weapons from border areas to buyers in Dhaka, according to the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).
While talking about the details of Tagar's arrest in an arms case at a press briefing today (19 September) at the RAB Media Centre in Karwan Bazar, RAB-3 commander Lt Col Faizul Arefin said, "We actually traced his identity while conducting an arms recovery drive and then learned he was one of the convicts in the Buet student Sony murder case."
RAB-3 arrested Tagar yesterday afternoon in Dhaka's Azimpur area. From his possession, law enforcement seized a revolver, a magazine, a wooden pistol grip, 155 rounds of .22 rifle ammunition, one misfired 7.62 mm bullet, one empty shotgun cartridge, two masks and two mobile phones.
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Faizul said the initial interrogation yielded sensational information.
According to him, Tagar has admitted to collecting illegal weapons from border areas and supplying them to different buyers in Dhaka. "Based on his statements, further operations to recover weapons are ongoing."
The RAB officer said Tagar was arrested on 24 June 2002 in the Sony murder case. Later, on 20 August 2020, he was released from Kashimpur Central Jail under "special consideration" by the then government, he added.
Responding to a question about the seized masks, Faizul explained that Tagar often used them to conceal his identity. "Whether the masks were used for other purposes will be determined in the investigation."
Tagar, a former Chhatra Dal leader, was sentenced to death along with two others in the Sony murder case on 29 June 2003.
Later, the High Court commuted their death sentence to life imprisonment on 10 March 2006.
Tagar was freed after serving his jail term.
A total of four convicts are in jail, while two others, Mokammel and Nurul, are absconding.
On 8 June 2002, two groups of Buet Chhatra Dal, the student wing of the then ruling party BNP, became embroiled in a clash on the campus over a tender.
Sony, who was returning to her dorm from attending class, died as she sustained a bullet injury during the skirmish.
