Hafizur Rahman re-arrested in Tonu murder case after bail suspension

Retired army personnel Hafizur Rahman has been arrested again in the murder case of college student Sohagi Jahan Tonu, days after the Appellate Division’s chamber judge suspended his bail and ordered him to surrender before a court.

Hafizur was arrested from his residence in the capital's Keraniganj on Saturday (August 8), the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) said.

PBI Superintendent Abu Yusuf confirmed the arrest, saying Hafizur was taken into custody after failing to comply with the court’s order. He is being sent to a court in Cumilla, he said.

According to PBI sources, the arrest was carried out in line with the chamber judge’s order and amid concerns that Hafizur might evade the legal process.

Hafizur was first arrested in the case on April 22 and sent to jail. The High Court later granted him bail, and he was released from custody on August 4.

However, two days later, on August 6, the Appellate Division’s chamber judge suspended the bail and directed Hafizur to surrender before the court within 24 hours.

The court also instructed police to arrest him if he failed to comply with the order.

The case dates back to March 20, 2016, when Tanu, a college student, went to a house inside Cumilla Cantonment to teach a student but did not return home. Her body was later recovered from bushes near the cantonment’s power house.

Her father, Iar Hossain, a former office assistant at the cantonment board, filed a murder case against unidentified people at Cumilla Kotwali Model Police Station the following day.

After years of investigation, the PBI arrested Hafizur for the first time from his residence in Keraniganj on April 21 this year.