A man who was sentenced to death for the rape of a teenage girl in Feni has been arrested after spending 18 years on the run.
The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) apprehended 55-year-old Latu Mia, alias Ali Nabi, in Dhaka's Badda on Monday, according to Lt Col Arif Mohiuddin Ahmed
In May 2003, Latu and a few others gang-raped a 13-year-old girl while holding her mother, a widow, at gunpoint in Sonagazi.
The next day, the mother started a case over the incident, which sent shockwaves across the country.
Charges were subsequently pressed against Latu, along with his associates, Md Faruk, Jahangir Alam and Abul Kashem.
Later, in July 2022, a court handed down the death penalty to Latu, Jahangir and Kashem. Faruk was acquitted as the evidence against him was not strong enough for a conviction.
Latu, Jahangir, Kashem and a few others were part of a gang led by Faruk that spread terror in the area with a plethora of criminal activities, according to RAB-3 Captain Arif.
Members of the gang had also sexually harassed the teenage girl and her mother on multiple occasions, but their advances were spurned each time.
Later on May 13, 2003, the four men broke into the widow's home late at night before dragging the woman and her daughter out of the house. They then tied the woman up, held a gun to her head and raped her daughter as she watched helplessly.
Law enforcement later arrested Latu, Jahangir and Kashem, but after spending some time behind bars, they were released on bail. Latu has been a fugitive ever since.
But Faruk regularly appeared in court for hearings. After he was released on bail, he also threatened the woman in a bid to get the case withdrawn.
Latu is implicated in three cases involving robbery and rape with Fulgazi Police Station, according to Arif.
After the incident, he fled to Chattogram and started making a living as a rickshaw driver for a while. He soon returned to a life of crime and was arrested on charges of robbery. But the police were not aware of the rape charges against him.
Following his release on bail in the robbery case, he was constantly on the move, making brief stays at the homes of various relatives. He would also secretly visit his wife and children to take money from them, said Arif.
Afterwards, he took refuge in a shrine in Sylhet for some time before moving to Dhaka, where he began selling daily necessities on the sidewalks.
He later began working as a security guard for fear of being caught by law enforcement. While on the run, he took up the name 'Ali Nabi'.
After the death sentence was passed in the rape case, he went into hiding at a shrine in Dhaka.
The authorities have also arrested the other convicts in the case, Jahangir Alam and Abul Kashem.