Tonu murder: Ex-army man Hafizur sent to jail after remand
There are no updates regarding further arrests in the case and the process of DNA cross-matching is ongoing, police say.
A Cumilla court today (25 April) sent retired senior warrant officer Md Hafizur Rahman, an accused in the Tonu murder case, to jail after completion of his three-day remand.
Senior Judicial Magistrate Abdullah Aman passed the order after the investigation, confirmed PBI Inspector Md Tariqul Islam.
Tariqul said, "The accused was placed before the court after the end of the remand period. There are no updates regarding further arrests in the case and the process of DNA cross-matching is ongoing."
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Earlier on Wednesday (22 April), Senior Judicial Magistrate Mominul Haque of Cumilla Sadar Cognisance Court-1 granted a three-day remand for Hafizur.
Hafizur was arrested on Tuesday night (21 April) from his residence in Arsinagar under Keraniganj Police Station, in connection with the rape and killing of Sohagi Jahan Tonu, a 19-year-old Comilla Victoria Government College student, in 2016.
This marked the first arrest in the case in nearly a decade.
Earlier on 6 April, a court in Cumilla ordered a cross-match between DNA profiles recovered from Tonu's clothing and those of three retired army personnel in the case – Hafizur Rahman, sergeant Zahid and soldier Jahangir Alam.
The directive followed a progress report submitted by the investigating officer.
Tonu went missing on 20 March 2016 after visiting a house in the Cumilla Cantonment to give tuition. Her body was later discovered in a nearby jungle area close to the cantonment power house.
The next day, her father filed a murder case with Cumilla Kotwali Model Police Station against unidentified individuals.
The case initially passed through local police, the Detective Branch (DB), and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), none of which could solve it.
On 21 October 2020, Police Headquarters transferred the case from CID to the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI).
For nearly four years, PBI Inspector Md Mujibur Rahman led the investigation. In September 2024, Tariqul Islam took over as the sixth investigating officer.
