In a significant development in the decade-old Sohagi Jahan Tonu murder case, the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) has applied for DNA testing of three individuals to match samples found on the victim’s clothing.
Md Tariqul Islam, a PBI Inspector and the sixth investigating officer of the case, appeared before the court of Cumilla Chief Judicial Magistrate Md Mominul Haque to seek permission for the tests.
The three individuals identified in the application are Sergeant Zahid, Warrant Officer Hafizur Rahman, and Soldier Jahangir Alam.
The PBI intends to compare the profiles of these men with the DNA of three unidentified males discovered by the CID forensic lab on Tonu’s clothes. Senior Judicial Magistrate Mominul Haque has accepted the application for review.
This move follows a court order on Sunday summoning the PBI to provide an update on the investigation’s progress.
A decade of seeking justice
Sohagi Jahan Tonu, a meritorious student of the History department at Cumilla Victoria Government College, went missing on 20 March 2016 while returning home after private tuition.
Her body was subsequently recovered from a wooded area near the powerhouse within the Cumilla Cantonment.
Over the last 10 years, spanning 3,670 days, the investigation has transitioned through four different agencies – the local police, the Detective Branch (DB), the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), and finally the PBI in 2020.
Despite the involvement of six investigating officers, no arrests have been made, and the findings of two post-mortem reports remain shrouded in ambiguity.
Family’s plight and scepticism
Yar Hossain, Tonu’s father and a retired office assistant of the Cumilla Cantonment Board, was present in court on Monday. Visibly exhausted by a decade of legal battles, he expressed his desperation for a resolution.
“I am tired of running between the cantonment, police station, CID, and the PBI office in Dhaka,” he stated, urging the new government to ensure justice before his death.
However, the victim’s family and local activists remain cautious.
Khairul Anam Raihan, director of the organisation “Cholochitro Moncho,” and Tonu’s brother, Rubel Hossain, noted that previous DNA tests were conducted on other suspects without the results being disclosed to the family.
They further claimed that the CID officer previously in charge of the investigation was removed from the case.
While expressing concerns that the current application might be a “show,” they maintained their hope for the truth to finally be unearthed. The case now rests on the outcome of the DNA reports, which the family hopes will bring an end to a ten-year wait for accountability.
