Retired Soldier Hafizur Rahman Re-Arrested in Tonu Murder Case

The Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) re-arrested retired military personnel Hafizur Rahman from his residence in Dhaka's Keraniganj upazila on Saturday, following an Appellate Division directive canceling his bail in the decade-old murder case of Cumilla Victoria Government College student and theater activist Sohagi Jahan Tonu.

According to an official PBI statement, Hafizur was taken into custody because he failed to comply with the court's order to surrender within 24 hours. Administrative procedures are currently underway to transfer him to a court in Cumilla.

The re-arrest comes days after his brief release following a High Court bail order. On Sunday, a High Court bench comprising Justice Jafar Ahmed and Justice Sathiaka Hossain granted Hafizur bail, leading to his release from Cumilla Central Jail on Tuesday evening.

Prompted by state objections, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court canceled his bail on Thursday and ordered him to surrender within 24 hours, stipulating that law enforcement should execute an arrest if he failed to comply. The deadline lapsed on Friday evening without his surrender, prompting the PBI operation hours later.

Hafizur was initially arrested by the PBI from Keraniganj on April 22, nearly ten years after the high-profile killing. Following his initial arrest, a Cumilla court placed him on a three-day remand, during which investigators collected DNA samples and subsequently submitted a forensic report to the court.

Sohagi Jahan Tonu, a student and theater activist, went missing on March 20, 2016, while going for tutoring in the Cumilla Cantonment area. Her body was later recovered from nearby bushes within the cantonment. The following day, her father, Yar Hossain, filed a murder case at the Cumilla Kotwali Model Police Station, marking the beginning of a prolonged legal and investigative pursuit for justice.