New details have emerged in the rape and murder of Jannatul Tajmin, a 15-year-old seventh-grade student from Cumilla, who travelled to Cox’s Bazar after telling her family she was going to a female friend’s house. She met Raju Chowdhury, 20, with whom she had developed a relationship through Facebook. After being missing for four days, her body was recovered from a paddy field in Cumilla’s Lalmai upazila on Thursday morning.
According to police, Tajmin hired a CNG-powered autorickshaw after returning by bus from Cox’s Bazar to travel to her home in the Racecourse area of Cumilla city. The driver, Sumon Mia, 35, allegedly took her to an isolated location, raped her and killed her. Police said Sumon, who was arrested in connection with the case, had given a confessional statement before a court.
Details about Tajmin’s trip to Cox’s Bazar, her stay there and her journey back have emerged from sources familiar with the case and statements by people associated with transport services.
According to family members and other sources, Tajmin met Raju Chowdhury through Facebook, and the two subsequently developed a relationship that had lasted around 17 days. Raju reportedly worked at a residential hotel called Dubai Resort near Dolphin Mor in the Kolatoli area of Cox’s Bazar. Sources said his home was in Barchhankhola village in Kumari Union, in the Chakaria-Lama area.
However, the details of their relationship, their activities in Cox’s Bazar and whether Raju had any involvement in the crime could not be independently verified. Sources familiar with the matter also said Raju could not be found at the hotel after the incident.
Mohammad Abdullah, an official at Cox’s Panoramic Travel and Tour Agency in Cox’s Bazar, said Tajmin and Raju visited the agency’s counter after 8pm on Tuesday, October 6. He said he had regarded them as ordinary passengers at the time.
According to Abdullah, the young man purchased a bus ticket for the following day. The Iconic Express bus left Cox’s Bazar for Cumilla at around noon on Wednesday. Various sources and information from CCTV footage indicate that Tajmin got off the bus near Hotel Nurjahan in the Paduar Bazar Bishwa Road area of Cumilla at around 11:45pm that night.
After getting off the bus, Tajmin tried to charge her mobile phone at several shops. A shop employee eventually arranged to charge it, sources said.
After learning about the incident, Abdullah said he made inquiries about the bus passengers and identified the girl as Tajmin. He said he had found no information linking Raju to the killing. Tajmin’s mother, Keya Khatun, said she last spoke to her daughter on Thursday afternoon. Tajmin told her that she was with a female friend. Her mother said she had wanted to visit the friend’s house to bring her daughter home. However, when she asked for the friend’s name and details about her parents, Tajmin did not provide them.
Keya Khatun said she had long been concerned about her daughter’s friends and movements. Fearing that something might happen to her, she had kept Tajmin out of school for nearly six months. She said she tried to monitor her daughter’s activities and friendships but was devastated that, despite her precautions, she had lost her daughter.
Tajmin’s teacher, Sad Bin Ershad, said he had taught her for a long time and described her as lively. When her mother was ill, Tajmin looked after her two younger twin brothers. Her father worked for a pharmaceutical company, leaving home in the morning and returning at night. Tajmin had a very good relationship with him, the teacher said. However, she would sometimes leave home impulsively when she was angry, he added.
Police said Tajmin hired the autorickshaw near Hotel Nurjahan at Paduar Bazar Bishwa Road on Wednesday night to travel to her home in the Racecourse area. The driver allegedly took her elsewhere, raped her and strangled her with a gamcha, a traditional cotton towel. Her body was recovered the following morning from a paddy field in Jagatpur village in Lalmai upazila.
Police said Sumon had been arrested and had given a confessional statement before a court. Investigators said they had not yet found evidence linking any of Tajmin’s other acquaintances to the killing.
Law enforcement agencies are continuing their investigation and verifying further information about Tajmin’s trip to Cox’s Bazar, her return journey and the roles of the people connected to the case.
