A CNG-powered auto-rickshaw driver has been arrested in Chattogram over the alleged rape and murder of Jannatul Tazmin, a seventh-grade schoolgirl from Cumilla. Police allege that the driver, identified as Sumon, took the teenager to an isolated location before raping and strangling her to death. Investigators have also recovered the victim’s iPhone based on information provided by the accused, according to police.
Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime) Pankaj Barua disclosed the details at a press conference held at the district police superintendent’s office on Saturday, 10 October. Police said they identified the suspect by examining the victim’s mobile phone records, confirming her identity and following other investigative leads. Sumon was subsequently arrested in Chattogram by the district Detective Branch (DB) police.
According to the police account, Tazmin boarded Sumon’s auto-rickshaw on Wednesday night after getting off a long-distance bus. She was travelling home to the Racecourse area of Cumilla city. However, instead of taking her to her intended destination, the driver allegedly changed course and drove towards a different location.
Realising that something was wrong, Tazmin sent her father a live location through WhatsApp and pleaded for help. However, her family members were asleep at the time and did not see the message immediately.
Investigators said the auto-rickshaw travelled through Bijra, Rasulpur and Shikarpur before reaching an isolated paddy field in Jagatpur village, under Lalmai upazila. There, Tazmin reportedly attempted to escape by running through several paddy fields. She was unable to get away.
According to police, Sumon allegedly raped the schoolgirl and strangled her with a gamcha, a traditional cotton towel, following a struggle at the scene. He then abandoned the auto-rickshaw in the field and fled.
On Thursday morning, Lalmai police recovered Tazmin’s body from the paddy field. The auto-rickshaw was found abandoned nearby. Her identity was initially unknown, but relatives later arrived at the scene and identified her.
Police said the victim’s mobile phone records and other evidence helped investigators establish the circumstances surrounding the killing and trace the suspect. Following his arrest in Chattogram, officers recovered Tazmin’s iPhone based on information provided by Sumon, according to the police statement.
Tazmin was the daughter of Abdul Alim, a resident of Chhatiatala village in Jessore Sadar upazila. Her family lived in a rented house in the Racecourse area of Cumilla because her father worked for pharmaceutical company Renata in the Cumilla region.
She was a seventh-grade student at Farida Bidyayatan in Cumilla. However, school authorities said she had been absent from classes since February this year.
According to her family, Tazmin left home on the morning of 4 October, saying she was going to visit a friend. She was last seen outside Hotel Nurjahan in Cumilla city at 12.19am on Wednesday night, according to information provided by her relatives.
At 2.58am, she sent her father a live location through WhatsApp. Her family did not see the message at the time and was therefore unable to respond immediately to her plea for help.
After her body was recovered on Thursday morning, relatives went to the scene and confirmed her identity. Her father subsequently filed a murder case with Lalmai Police Station against unidentified individuals. The investigation later led police to Sumon, who was arrested by the district Detective Branch.
The case has raised concerns about the safety of young passengers travelling alone at night, particularly those relying on hired transport to return home. Tazmin’s attempt to alert her father through a live location also highlights the importance of timely responses to emergency messages.
Police have presented their account of the incident based on the investigation so far. The allegations of rape and murder against Sumon must be established through the legal process, and the evidence gathered by investigators will be subject to judicial scrutiny.
