The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has arrested a man who evaded justice for 17 years by posing as a journalist, after killing his wife.
The 47-year old Ashraf Hossain Kamal was arrested at Ashulia in Savar on Thursday, nearly one and a half years after a court sentenced him to death.
RAB identified him using some clues from social media, the elite force’s spokesman Khandaker Al Moin said at a press briefing on Friday.
Ashraf, a native of Noakhali, completed his masters in 1998 from Jagannath College and began to work in a cement factory in Narayanganj’s Sonargaon in 2001, reports bdnews24.com.
He married Sanjida Akter in 2003 and they began living in the residential facility provided by the company. They had a son.
Police recovered Sanjida’s body from their house on Feb 1, 2005.
Ashraf and Sanjida’s son was 15 months old at that time. Police had arrested Ashraf as a suspect over the murder, but Sanjida’s father Sadek Mia posted bail for Ashraf so he could be with the baby.
But just a day after he was released on bail, Ashraf fled and never contacted any of his kin, or even his child, Moin said.
He married again in 2006 in Ashulia, hiding his identity. He has another 13-year-old child with his second wife.
A post-mortem examination revealed Sanjida had been strangled to death. A police investigation found she had been murdered after a case was started at Sonargaon Police Station.
Ashraf was indicted and the trial proceeded in his absence. A Narayanganj district and sessions judge sentenced him to death on Sept 8, 2020.
After fleeing Sonargaon, Ashraf lived mostly in Ashulia, working as a journalist with some dailies and weekly newspapers, Moin said. Ashraf was also affiliated with Ashulia Press Club.
During interrogation, Ashraf told RAB that he joined weekly Mohanagar Barta as deputy editor in 2006. He chose the profession so he could “easily hide” his identity.
Ashraf became a member of Ashulia Press Club in 2009 and was elected its organising secretary for 2013-14.
He joined Dainik Shomoyer Bangla in 2020 as a reporter. His last employment was with weekly Swadesh Bichitra, according to the identity cards seized by RAB.
“He used to mainly work for the news outlets and organisations that sprout up suddenly. RAB identified him from his presence on social media,” said Moin.
Ashraf also ran a consultancy firm called ‘Compliance Solutions’ in Ashulia, which works as a third party to monitor the work atmosphere in the garment factories.
He used the Ashulia address as his permanent one to get a NID card, RAB said.