After nearly ten years, an arrest has been made in the murder case of Sohagi Jahan Tanu, a history student and theater activist from Comilla Victoria Government College. Hafizur Rahman (52), a retired Senior Warrant Officer of the Bangladesh Army, was arrested by the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) from Keraniganj, Dhaka. A Comilla court has granted a three-day remand for interrogation.
Hafizur was stationed at the Comilla Cantonment at the time of Tanu’s murder in 2016. Investigators had recently sought court approval to match DNA samples from three suspects, including Hafizur, Sergeant Zahid, and Soldier Shahin Alam, all of whom were also posted at the cantonment during the incident and have since retired. The court approved the DNA testing request earlier this month.
The case dates back to March 20, 2016, when Tanu went out for private tutoring inside the cantonment and did not return. Her body was later found in a bush near a power station within the cantonment area. Initial autopsy reports failed to determine the cause of death, raising serious concerns about the investigation. In 2017, DNA analysis revealed the presence of semen from three different men on her clothing, intensifying demands for accountability.
Tanu’s father, Yar Hossain, who filed the original case against unidentified assailants, has long maintained that the names of the suspects had been known from the beginning. He has questioned inconsistencies in identifying the accused, particularly regarding one individual referred to as Shahin Alam, whom the family does not recognize.
The arrest marks the first time any suspect has been formally detained in the case. The PBI has stated that interrogation under remand will be followed by DNA testing procedures. For the family, the development comes after years of delay, unanswered questions, and a prolonged struggle for justice in one of Bangladesh’s most widely discussed unresolved murder cases.
Source: Prothom Alo
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