A Cumilla court has permitted the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) to conduct DNA profile cross-matching of three individuals in connection with the murder of Sohagi Jahan Tonu, a student of Cumilla Victoria Government College. The order was issued on Monday by Senior Judicial Magistrate Mominul Haque after PBI Inspector Md. Tarikul Islam submitted a petition seeking permission to compare the DNA profiles of Sergeant Zahid, Warrant Officer Hafizur Rahman, and Soldier Jahangir Alam with samples found on Tonu’s clothing.
Tonu was found dead on March 20, 2016, inside the Cumilla Cantonment area after she went missing while tutoring at a nearby house. Her father, Iyar Hossain, filed a murder case the next day against unidentified persons. Over the years, the case has been investigated by multiple agencies, including the local police, the Detective Branch, and the Criminal Investigation Department, but no breakthrough was achieved.
The case has now been under PBI supervision since October 2020, with Inspector Tarikul Islam serving as the sixth investigating officer. Tonu’s father, present in court, expressed hope for justice after a decade of waiting.