Members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) have arrested a fugitive death row convict in several murder cases, including four murders of Kurigram, from Kanchpur area of Narayanganj. The arrestee is hired terrorist Palash Gazi alias Jalal Gazi alias Daat Bhanga Palash. He used to work as a hired terrorist in various crimes including robbery, drug peddling, and theft since 2010. Tipped off, Rab members conducted a drive at Kanchpur area on Monday night and arrested Palash Gazi, said Commander Khandaker Al Moin, director legal and media wing of the Rab headquarters at its Karwan Bazar media center on Tuesday. Read more: 2 fugitive convicts held in Dhaka He is a death row convict in the case of killing four members of the same family in Kurigram. Rab said that the murder was carried out due to a land dispute between two brothers. In November 2013, Mumtaz Uddin made a contract with Palash Gazi to kill his younger brother Sultan Ahmed in Bhurungamari area of Kurigram following a land dispute. Under the leadership of Palash, Nazrul alias Manju, Amir, Zakir, Hasmat and Mumtaz planned to kill Sultan on January 13, 2014. On the following day, Palash's other associates, wearing masks with local weapons, attacked Sultan’s house. They hacked Sultan, his wife Hazera Begum, their grandchildren Rumana and Anika to death, said the Rab commander. Sultan's son Hafizur Rahman filed a murder case at Bhurungamari police station. Read more: Crimes against humanity: Fugitive death row convict held in Savar Later, police arrested two people in another murder case in Bhurungamari area. At one stage of interrogation, they admitted the involvement in the four murders and revealed the names of their associates. Investigating officer of the case submitted a chargesheet against seven people including Mumtaz Uddin, Palash Gazi in the court. On February 16 last year, the court sentenced six accused, including the accused killer Mumtaz Uddin, the fugitive Palash Gazi, and acquitted another. The Rab officer also said Palash Gazi and his associates killed a microbus driver Nurul Haque and left the body in a pond in Mirzapur area of Sherpur in Bogra to steal the microbus in July 2015. In this case, the court sentenced a total of nine accused, including the Palash Gazi, to life imprisonment last November. Among the eight other convicts, Nazrul Islam Manju and Amir Hamza were also convicted over the brutal murder of four members of the same family in Bhurungamari area of Kurigram, said the officer.

The government is releasing 329 prisoners under special consideration who served jail terms of 20 years and more in murder cases.