US deports B'deshi national wanted for Hasina's murder attempt

A Bangladeshi national, wanted in his country on charges of attempted murder of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has been deported by the US.

Nazmul Maksud Murad, 43, is accused of participating in a 1989 grenade attack at the home of Hasina, who was the head of a rival political party at that time.

Wanted by law enforcement authorities in Bangladesh for the 1989 bomb attack, Murad was deported to his home country on Tuesday by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

In February 2012, an ERO Fugitive Operations team based in Atlanta arrested Murad in Lilburn pursuant to an arrest warrant issued in October 2011 by a judge in Dhaka, and his unlawful status in the US.

Murad, who had entered the US in 1996, was already subject to immigration removal proceedings at the time of his arrest by ERO, the statement said.

"Fugitives from justice will not find safe haven in the United States," said John P Martinez, acting field office director of ERO Atlanta.

"Murad is accused of participating in an attempted political assassination, and thanks to the diligent work of our Fugitive Operations Team he will be held accountable for his actions in Bangladesh," he added.

US officials escorted Murad on a commercial flight that departed Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport Monday.

He was turned over to Bangladeshi authorities yesterday at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka.