DHAKA/CUMILLA — A former Bangladesh Army senior warrant officer who had been released on interim bail in the decade-old murder case of Cumilla Victoria Government College student Sohagi Jahan Tanu has been arrested again after the Appellate Division’s Chamber Judge suspended his bail and ordered him to surrender.
The Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) arrested Hafizur Rahman, 52, on Saturday from his residence in Keraniganj, Dhaka. Authorities said the rearrest followed his failure to comply with the Chamber Judge’s order directing him to surrender within 24 hours.
Police are now completing procedures to produce him before a court in Cumilla.
Hafizur, a former senior warrant officer of the Bangladesh Army, had earlier been arrested by the PBI on April 22 this year and sent to jail in connection with Tanu’s killing. The High Court granted him six months’ interim bail on August 2, and he was released from prison two days later, on August 4.
The state subsequently challenged the High Court order before the Appellate Division.
On August 6, the Chamber Judge stayed Hafizur’s bail and ordered him to surrender within 24 hours. The court also directed police to arrest him if he failed to comply with that order.
His latest arrest came after authorities concluded that he had not surrendered within the stipulated time.
Arrest Brings Renewed Attention to Decade-Old Case
The case concerns the killing of Sohagi Jahan Tanu, a student of Cumilla Victoria Government College whose death in March 2016 triggered widespread public outrage and demands for justice.
On the evening of March 20, 2016, Tanu left home to provide private tuition at a residence inside the Cumilla Cantonment area but did not return.
After her family began searching for her, her body was found in bushes near the cantonment’s power house area.
Initial suspicion centered on the possibility that she had been sexually assaulted before being killed, although the precise circumstances surrounding her death became the subject of prolonged investigation and controversy.
The following day, Tanu’s father, Yar Hossain, then an office assistant with the Cantonment Board and now retired, filed a murder case with Cumilla Kotwali Model Police Station against unidentified individuals.
The killing drew national attention because of the location where her body was recovered and the absence, for years, of a publicly identified accused.
Hafizur Was Serving in Cumilla Cantonment in 2016
Hafizur Rahman was serving in the Bangladesh Army at Cumilla Cantonment when Tanu was killed in 2016.
He later left the military after being sent into retirement in 2023.
Nearly nine years after the killing, the PBI arrested him on April 22 this year from his Keraniganj residence in Dhaka as part of the continuing investigation into the case.
His arrest marked one of the most significant developments in the long-running investigation, which had remained unresolved despite repeated public demands for accountability.
Following the arrest, he was sent to jail by the court.
High Court Bail Later Suspended
After remaining in custody for more than three months, Hafizur secured six months’ interim bail from the High Court on August 2.
He was released from prison on August 4.
However, prosecutors moved quickly to challenge the bail order. On August 6, the Appellate Division’s Chamber Judge suspended the High Court decision and instructed Hafizur to surrender before the appropriate court within 24 hours.
The same order authorized police to arrest him if he failed to surrender.
His rearrest on Saturday was carried out in compliance with that direction.
The legal proceedings now return the case to a more active stage, with Hafizur again in custody while investigators and prosecutors continue to pursue the case.
A Case That Has Remained Unresolved for Years
Tanu’s killing remains one of Bangladesh’s most widely discussed unresolved murder cases involving a young woman.
The discovery of her body inside the cantonment area in 2016 sparked nationwide protests by students, rights activists and members of the public.
Over the years, the case passed through different stages of investigation, but progress remained slow and no final resolution was reached.
The PBI’s decision to arrest Hafizur earlier this year suggested that investigators had developed fresh grounds to pursue him in connection with the case.
His rearrest now means that the courts will again determine his custodial status while the investigation and any subsequent proceedings continue.
At present, the allegations against Hafizur remain subject to judicial determination. His arrest does not constitute a finding of guilt, and any criminal responsibility must be established through due process in court.
