The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested the prime suspect in the Dhaka University (DU) student rape case early yesterday. The arrested man, Md Maznu (30), is said to have confessed to being a serial rapist. He is a part-time hawker and a day labourer. He had earlier raped beggars and physically challenged women, besides being involved in various crimes including mugging.

At a press briefing at the Karwan Bazar media centre, RAB Director (legal and media) Sarwar-Bin-Quashem said they identified the suspect as a serial rapist. “A team of RAB-1 arrested Maznu from the Sheora rail crossing area in the capital early yesterday. He is a drug addict. He had earlier raped beggars and physically challenged women,” he added. Maznu, a hawker by profession, confessed to raping the DU student on January 5, the RAB official said.

Maznu was brought to the media centre around 12 noon yesterday. Earlier, the rape victim had identified the suspect following his arrest. “The victim was able to identify the rapist from a photo that was shown to her,” said the RAB official. Sarwar-Bin-Quashem said that the victim said she would not forget the rapist's face even if she were to forget all others. He also said that Maznu had tried to kill her and did not use any drug like chloroform to make the girl unconscious. Maznu had no regrets after committing the heinous crime, he added.

“After raping the DU student, Maznu left Dhaka and went to Narsingdi. Later, he came back to Dhaka and stayed at the Banani rail station,” said the official. During primary interrogation, Maznu said that he was illiterate and married. He claimed he was a widower. About 12 years back, he had fallen off a train and lost two of his front teeth. Regarding the arrest, the RAB said it was a difficult case to crack. There was no CCTV footage or any hard evidence to detain the rapist.

“The missing teeth served as an important clue for the RAB in arresting the rapist. We were able to arrest him mainly from the victim’s mobile. The victim’s bag, power bank, and mobile phone were recovered from his possession,” said Sarwar-Bin-Quashem.

“On the day of the crime, the accused had started following the victim after she got off from the university bus. He got her by the neck and took her to a roadside bush. He then beat her indiscriminately, making her unconscious,” he added. RAB said Maznu gave the victim’s mobile to someone named Aruna Biswas, 45, in Sheora area. Aruna sold it to a man called Khairul, 38.

Using the latest technology, the detected the position of the mobile phone, and accordingly RAB arrested Maznu. However, the victim’s missing mobile phone has been recovered from the suspect’s possession. Earlier, on Sunday, a DU student was raped at Kurmitola. She regained consciousness around 10pm and she went to her friend’s house. She was admitted to the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital around midnight.