In a major breakthrough nearly a decade after the murder of Sohagi Jahan Tonu, a court has placed Senior Warrant Officer Hafizur Rahman on a three-day remand. He is the first person to be formally arrested in connection with the 2016 killing that sparked nationwide protests.
Cumilla Senior Judicial Magistrate Mominul Huq passed the order on Wednesday afternoon after the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) produced the suspect before the court.
Hafizur Rahman was arrested from his residence by PBI investigating officer Tarikul Islam earlier in the day. The arrest follows a significant move on April 6, when the seventh investigating officer of the case sought judicial permission to cross-match the DNA samples of three suspects: Sergeant Zahid, Senior Warrant Officer Hafizur Rahman, and Soldier Shahinul Alam.
According to court sources, the legal proceedings have seen 80 scheduled dates pass over the last ten years, with the investigation changing hands among seven officers across four different agencies.
The victim’s parents and her younger brother, Rubel Hossain, arrived at the Cumilla court premises around 5:00 PM today. The process of recording the formal statements of Tonu’s parents is currently underway.
Sohagi Jahan Tonu, a student of Cumilla Victoria Government College and a theater activist, was found murdered inside the Cumilla Cantonment area on the night of March 20, 2016. Despite multiple autopsies and DNA tests confirming rape, the investigation had remained stalled for years without any arrests until today.
