Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) arrested a death row convict in the murder of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) leader also an organiser of the Liberation War Kazi Aref Ahmed early today. (Thursday)

The convict is Rawshan alias Ali alias Uday Mallick.

A team of Rab arrested Rawshan during a drive in Rajshahi, ANM Imran Khan, assistant director of Rab's Legal and Media wing told.

Hailing from Meherpur, he was absconding for years in different districts assuming different names, Rab officials said.

On February 16, 1999, five JSD leaders, including Kazi Aref, were killed in a brushfire during a rally on Kalidaspur Government Primary School premises in Kushtia's Daulatpur.

The others killed were the then Kushtia district JSD president Lokman Hossain, general secretary Yakub Ali, local JSD leader Israel Hossain and Shamsher Mandal.

On August 30, 2004, a Kushtia court sentenced 10 people to death and 12 others to life imprisonment in the case.

On August 5, 2008, the High Court upheld the death sentence of nine of them and acquitted 13 others.

On January 8, 2016, three death row convicts -- Safayat Hossain Habib, Anwar Hossain and Rashedul Islam Jhantu -- were executed at Jashore Central Jail.

All three were top members of the outlawed Purbo Banglar Communist Party (PBCP-Laltu).

One of the death row convicts died in custody while some others are still on the run.

At the press conference, the Rab official said that although Raushan's hometown is Gangni of Meherpur, he used to tell everyone in Rajshahi that he was from Gazipur. He also changed his name to Uday Mandal in his National ID card.

"Law enforcement had trouble identifying Raushan as his name had been changed. That is why it was possible for him to stay in hiding for so long," said Moin.

"Apart from cattle farms in Rajshahi, Raushan was also involved in the business of selling land. He has grown up children who don't know their father's real identity or about the murder. His wife, however, knew everything."

He said Raushan was involved in coordinating and planning Kazi Aref's murder.

"During interrogation, Raushan said he was involved in several other killings besides that of Kazi Aref. He was a death row convict in the murder of Kazipur union parishad chairman Abdul Baki in 1999, and an accused in the killing of a local school teacher Amzad in 2000," the Rab official said.

Raushan had been involved in smuggling, haat (market) leasing and other business activities in border areas since 1992 and had formed a criminal group in the area. At that time, he also befriended groups of outlaws.