Tonu murder: Interpol issues Red Notices against two ex-army personnel, police say

The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) has issued Red Notices against two former army personnel over the 2016 murder of college student Sohagi Jahan Tonu in Cumilla on suspicion of their involvement, police said.

The notices were issued separately today (2 September) against former sergeant Md Zahiduzzaman, 48, and former soldier Md Shahin Alam, 37, following a request from the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) through Bangladesh Police's National Central Bureau (NCB-Dhaka), an SP-ranked officer at Police Headquarters confirmed on condition of anonymity.

Investigation-related sources said Zahiduzzaman and Shahin had been identified as key accused based on information and evidence gathered during the investigation. Their current whereabouts remain unknown, and both are absconding.

Tonu, 19, a history student at Cumilla Victoria Government College and a theatre activist, went to tutor at a house inside Cumilla Cantonment on the evening of 20 March 2016.

When she did not return home, her family began searching for her and later found her body in a bush near the cantonment's powerhouse.

It was initially suspected that she had been raped before being killed.

The following day, her father Yaar Hossain, then an office assistant at the Cantonment Board and now retired, filed a murder case against unidentified people with Cumilla's Kotwali Model Police Station under Sections 302, 201 and 34 of the Penal Code.

Tonu's death triggered protests and public outrage across the country.

The forensic department of Cumilla Medical College Hospital submitted two post-mortem reports on 4 April and 12 June 2016. Neither could determine a specific cause of her death.

Several agencies investigated the case before PBI took charge in October 2020 following instructions from Police Headquarters.

Inspector Tarikul Islam later took charge of the investigation.

On 6 April this year, Tarikul sought court permission to cross-match DNA profiles involving three former army personnel – Zahiduzzaman, former senior warrant officer Hafizur Rahman and Shahin Alam. The court granted the request.

Investigators subsequently sought to collect DNA samples from Zahiduzzaman and Shahin, but their locations could not be traced, investigation-related sources said.

PBI arrested Hafizur from his home in Keraniganj, Dhaka, on 21 April, Tarikul said.

Hafizur, who retired from the army in 2023, was posted at Cumilla Cantonment when Tonu was killed.

In June, a Cumilla court ordered the authorities to take necessary legal steps, including seeking Interpol assistance, to trace and arrest Zahiduzzaman and Shahin following a petition by the investigating officer.

Following the order, PBI requested NCB-Dhaka to seek Interpol assistance in identifying and locating the two.

Information and documents relating to them were subsequently sent to Interpol.

Meanwhile, Hafizur was released from jail on 4 August after securing bail from the High Court.

On 6 August, however, the Appellate Division's chamber judge stayed his bail and ordered him to surrender before the court within 24 hours. Police were directed to arrest him if he failed to surrender within the stipulated time.

PBI said in a press release on 8 August that Hafizur was arrested again in line with the court order and amid concerns that he could flee.

After reviewing the information and documents submitted by Bangladesh, Interpol issued separate Red Notices against Zahiduzzaman and Shahin yesterday, according to investigation-related sources.

Police sources said Zahiduzzaman was serving as a sergeant and Shahin as a soldier at Cumilla Cantonment when Tonu was killed.

Zahiduzzaman, from Garghata in Bagerhat's Morelganj, was attached to the 12 Engineer Battalion, while Shahin, from Gobindapur village under Pirjatrapur union in Cumilla's Burichang upazila, was serving with the 2 Signal Battalion. Both have since retired from the army.

The case remains under PBI investigation.