Tonu murder: Two former army personnel face arrest warrants

A court in Cumilla on Monday issued arrest warrants against two former army personnel in connection with the murder of Cumilla Victoria Government College student Sohagi Jahan Tonu.

It also ordered the issuance of Interpol red notices against them.

Cumilla Senior Judicial Magistrate Court-1 Judge Muminul Haque passed the order, confirmed the court police inspector, Mohammad Mamunur Rashid.

The individuals against whom arrest warrants were issued are former sergeant Jahiduzzaman, also known as Jahid, 48, a resident of Morrelganj upazila in Bagerhat; and soldier Shahin Alam, 37, of Burichang upazila in Cumilla. 

Jahid had been serving in Engineer Battalion-12, while Shahin was in Signal Battalion-2 at Cumilla Cantonment at the time of the incident.

The victim’s family has consistently alleged that Jahid led the sexual assault and killing of Tonu. According to sources, Shahin is currently abroad.

Both have either retired or been discharged from the army.

Court sources said the investigating officer (IO) of the case, Inspector Tarikul Islam of the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), recently filed a petition with the court, seeking arrest warrants against the two suspects and requesting an order for Interpol red notices.

In the same application, he also requested that any probe-related information held by the Bangladesh Army be handed over to the IO. Monday was the scheduled hearing date for the case.

Recently, new information has emerged in the sensational murder case. The IO said DNA analysis of Tonu’s clothing revealed the involvement of another person. Earlier reports indicated the presence of sperm from three individuals, but newly found evidence shows traces of blood from an additional person on her clothing.

Meanwhile, former senior warrant officer of the army, Hafizur Rahman, 52, was produced before the court around 11am on Monday. No bail petition was filed on his behalf. The court subsequently ordered that he be sent to jail.

Hafizur was arrested at his residence in Keraniganj, Dhaka, on 21 April.

At the time of Tonu’s murder, he had been serving at Cumilla Cantonment. He retired or was discharged in 2023.

Tonu was a student of history at Cumilla Victoria Government College.

On 20 March 2016, she went missing at Cumilla Cantonment after leaving for private tuition. When she did not return home at night, her family launched a lengthy search and finally recovered the body from a bush inside the cantonment.

The following day, her father, Yar Hossain, filed a murder case with the Kotwali Model Police Station against unnamed individuals.