A new development has emerged in the long-pending murder case of Sohagi Jahan Tanu, a history student of Cumilla Victoria Government College and a theatre activist, as the court has ordered DNA tests of three suspects—10 years after the হত্যাকাণ্ড.
On Monday (April 6), Cumilla Chief Judicial Magistrate Court Judge Md. Muminul Haque issued the order.
The court directed the investigation officer, PBI Dhaka Inspector Md. Tarikul Islam, to appear and submit a progress report. After reviewing the report, the court ordered DNA testing of three সন্দেহভাজন individuals.
According to the investigation officer, DNA profiles of three individuals had earlier been collected from clothing used by Tanu. However, those samples were never matched. Following the court’s directive, DNA samples of the three suspects—who are now retired army personnel—will be tested and compared.
The court also instructed the তদন্ত কর্মকর্তা to submit further progress in the next hearing.
According to case details, on March 20, 2016, Tanu went to a house inside Cumilla Cantonment for private tutoring but never returned. Later, her body was recovered from a nearby jungle close to the cantonment’s power house area. The next day, her father, Iyar Hossain, filed a murder case against unknown persons at Cumilla Kotwali Model Police Station.
Over the past decade, the case has been investigated by local police, Detective Branch (DB), Criminal Investigation Department (CID), and later the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), but no conclusive breakthrough has been achieved. In October 2020, the case was officially handed over to PBI headquarters in Dhaka.
Speaking to journalists at the court, Tanu’s father expressed frustration, saying, “If justice can be served in other murder cases, why not my daughter’s? For 10 years, we have been running from place to place seeking justice.”
He also stated that current Prime Minister Tarique Rahman had previously assured justice for Tanu while in London, and he now plans to meet him to demand accountability.
After a decade without resolution, the case has once again come into focus. The court’s latest order has renewed hope among the victim’s family and the public for a possible breakthrough.
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