Retired army personnel Hafizur Rahman, an accused in the murder case of Cumilla Victoria Government College student Sohagi Jahan Tonu, did not surrender before the court within the 24-hour deadline set by the Appellate Division’s Chamber Court.
Court officials confirmed on Friday evening that Hafizur had yet to appear before the court despite the expiry of the deadline.
Cumilla Court Police Inspector Sadekur Rahman said the accused had not surrendered as of Friday evening.
Cumilla Central Jail Senior Jail Superintendent Shah Alam Khan also said he had been informed that Hafizur had not reported to the court.
On Thursday, the Chamber Court of Justice Md Rezaul Haque of the Appellate Division suspended the High Court’s order granting bail to Hafizur until 9 August after hearing a petition filed by the state.
The court directed him to surrender within 24 hours and ordered law enforcement agencies to arrest him if he failed to comply within the stipulated time.
Hafizur was granted bail by the High Court on 2 August and was released from Cumilla Central Jail two days later.
The state subsequently filed a petition seeking leave to appeal against the bail order, prompting the Chamber Court to stay the High Court’s decision.
The case relates to the killing of Sohagi Jahan Tonu, a student of Cumilla Victoria Government College, who went missing on 20 March, 2016, while on her way to a private tutoring session inside Cumilla Cantonment.
Her body was later recovered from a bush within the cantonment area.
The following day, Tonu’s father, Yar Hossain, filed a murder case with Cumilla Kotwali Model Police Station.
On 21 April this year, the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), which is investigating the case, arrested Hafizur Rahman from Keraniganj in Dhaka.
