Cumilla Correspondent:

After more than a decade, the names of three former army personnel suspected in the murder of Sohagi Jahan Tonu, a student of Cumilla Victoria Government College and a theatre activist, have been made public for the first time.

Since the killing, family members had repeatedly mentioned several suspected individuals at different times. However, their names were never officially disclosed by law enforcement agencies. In this context, the family and conscious citizens now see a “ray of hope” for justice following the disclosure of three names by the investigating agency.

Around 11:00 am on Monday, the investigating officer of the case, Inspector Md Tarikul Islam of the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) in Kalyanpur, Dhaka, appeared before the court of Senior Judicial Magistrate No 1, Muminul Haque, in Cumilla. He came in response to a court summons. During the hearing, he presented updates on the case and requested DNA matching of three suspects allegedly involved in the murder. The court approved his request.

Sources related to the investigation say the three suspects are Sergeant Zahid, Warrant Officer Hafizur Rahman, and soldier Shahin Alam, who were stationed at Cumilla Cantonment at the time of the incident. They have since retired from the army. However, it is not confirmed when they retired or whether they were forced into retirement after the incident.

The plaintiff in the case and Tonu’s father, Yar Hossain, claims that the soldier’s name is not Shahin Alam but Zahid. He said they had been mentioning these names from the beginning, and the name Zahid had repeatedly come up, while they had not known of any soldier named Shahin at the time.

What happened that day

On the evening of 20 March, 2016, Tonu went to a house inside Cumilla Cantonment for private tutoring and never returned home. Later, after a search, her body was found in bushes near the power house inside the cantonment. It was initially believed that she was raped and then murdered. The next day, her father, Yar Hossain—then an office assistant of the Cantonment Board (now retired)—filed a case at Cumilla Kotwali Model Police Station against unidentified individuals on charges of rape and murder.

On 4 April and 12 June, 2016, two separate autopsy reports by the forensic department of Cumilla Medical College Hospital stated that the cause of death could not be determined.

The last major hope in the case was the DNA report. In May 2017, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) informed the media that DNA tests on samples taken from Tonu’s clothing had found semen from three men. Additionally, between 25 and 27 October, 2017, a CID team interrogated three individuals suspected by Tonu’s mother at Dhaka Cantonment. However, their names were not disclosed at that time.

Six officers investigated the case

It has been learned that initially the local police, then the district Detective Branch (DB), and later the CID investigated the case for a long time but failed to make progress. On 21 October, 2020, following instructions from Police Headquarters, the CID handed over the case documents to the PBI. Inspector Md Mojibur Rahman of PBI headquarters investigated the case for nearly four years but also failed to make progress. Most recently, since September 2024, Inspector Md Tarikul Islam has taken charge as the sixth investigating officer.

Among the six officers who handled the case, Inspector Mojibur Rahman and then Assistant Superintendent of Police Jalal Uddin Ahmed of CID Cumilla in 2016 spent the longest time—four years each, totaling eight years—investigating it. Attempts to contact Jalal Uddin Ahmed by phone were unsuccessful.

Inspector Mojibur Rahman, now serving in the Chattogram Range Police, said over the phone that they were also aware of the three individuals whose names have now surfaced.

“We tried to match DNA samples, but for various reasons it was not possible,” he said, declining further comment and referring inquiries to the current investigating officer.

In court yesterday, current investigating officer Tarikul Islam stated that DNA profiles of three individuals had been prepared from semen samples found on Tonu’s clothing in May 2017, but no matching had been done with samples from the suspects. He then formally requested DNA matching, which the court approved.

When contacted, Tarikul Islam told that, “We are investigating the case with importance. For now, we do not want to comment further. Our work is ongoing, and we hope everything will come out through the investigation.”

What Tonu’s family says

Tonu’s mother, Anwara Begum, said, “My daughter was brutally tortured and killed. I have never lost hope for justice. I always pray to Allah to let me see justice before I die. Sergeant Zahid is a major culprit. I have repeatedly asked for his arrest, but no one listened. Finally, his name has come to court. Now we want to see justice. I want nothing else in this life—only justice for my daughter’s killers. If the law is equal for all, then I will get justice for Tonu’s murder—that hope keeps me going.”

Tonu’s brother, Anwar Hossain, said that when the CID was investigating, several suspects were interrogated in Dhaka, but their names were never officially disclosed. He said the recent disclosure of three names offers some hope, adding, “We want justice for the crime, not against any institution. The case should not be pushed back into darkness under any invisible pressure.”

Tonu’s father, Yar Hossain, told That, “Not only Sergeant Zahid, Warrant Officer Hafizur Rahman, and soldier Zahid—many others are involved in my daughter’s murder. Her hair was cut at the time of the incident, and that was done by someone’s wife. If Sergeant Zahid and his wife are taken into remand and interrogated, the truth will come out. Many others are directly and indirectly involved. I am old now—I want to see justice before I die.”

Citizens see hope

Public prosecutor Kaimul Haque of the Cumilla District and Sessions Judge Court said, “This initiative should have been taken in 2017. But even if delayed, the names of three suspects have now come forward. I am hopeful about justice in this murder case. The law is equal for all, and we will stand by Tonu’s family to ensure justice.”

Professor Nikhil Chandra Roy, president of the Citizens’ Committee for Good Governance (Shonak) in Cumilla, said the family had been mentioning these names since the beginning, but the matter had repeatedly been suppressed under invisible pressure. Even after a long time, the names have been disclosed, and the fact that they were serving in the cantonment at the time is significant for the investigation.

He hoped the names of the perpetrators will be revealed soon.