Retired Army Officer Arrested and Remanded in Tonu Murder Case

A former Army officer has been arrested and placed on a three-day remand in connection with the 2016 murder of Sohagi Jahan Tonu.

The Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) arrested Hafizur Rahman, a retired Senior Warrant Officer at his residence in Keraniganj, Dhaka on Tuesday night. He was presented before the Cumilla Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday where the court granted the remand following a petition by the investigating officer.

The arrest follows a court order issued on April 6, which authorized the cross-matching of DNA profiles from three former Army personnel including Rahman with samples recovered from Tonu’s clothing at the time of her death.

Sohagi Jahan Tonu a history student at Cumilla Victoria Government College and a theater activist went missing on March 20, 2016 after leaving a private tuition session inside the Cumilla Cantonment.

Her body was later discovered in a nearby forest. Despite investigations by the local police the Detective Branch, and the CID over the last decade this marks the first arrest made in the case.