Tonu Murder: Court Stays Bail of Ex-Army Official Hafizur

The Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division has stayed the High Court bail granted to retired army officer Hafizur Rahman, a key suspect in the high-profile Shohagi Jahan Tonu murder case. Delivering the directive, the court ordered the accused to surrender within 24 hours, failing which law enforcement authorities have been instructed to re-arrest him immediately.

Attorney General Md. Ruhul Quddus Kajol confirmed the judicial order on Thursday, 6 August, following an appeal lodged by the state to overturn the suspect’s release.

The legal development comes shortly after a High Court bench, comprising Justice Zafar Ahmed and Justice Sathika Hossain, granted a six-month interim bail to Hafizur Rahman on 2 August. During that hearing, the bench also issued a rule asking the relevant authorities why the accused should not be granted permanent bail, giving respondents four weeks to submit their replies. Deputy Attorney General Sheuli Khanam, alongside Assistant Attorneys General Sabbir Hossain, Md. Mizanur Rahman, Rezaul Karim, and Mir Moniruzzaman, represented the state, while advocate Moslem Uddin Bhuiyan appeared on behalf of the defence.

Following the High Court order, Hafizur walked out of prison, a move that quickly drew extensive media coverage. Spurred by public attention and the severity of the charges, the state moved the Appellate Division’s relevant branch to formally petition for the cancellation of his bail.

Hafizur Rahman, a 52-year-old retired senior warrant officer of the Bangladesh Army, was arrested on 21 April by the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) from his residence in Keraniganj, Dhaka. His detention marked the most significant breakthrough in an investigation that had remained stalled for years.

The murder dates back to the evening of 20 March 2016, when Shohagi Jahan Tonu, a 19-year-old student at Cumilla Victoria Government College and an active cultural campaigner, went missing after leaving her home to conduct private tutoring within the Cumilla Cantonment. Her frantic family initiated a search when she failed to return. Hours later, her lifeless body was discovered abandoned in a secluded bush area near the cantonment’s power house, displaying severe signs of physical trauma.

Because the crime occurred within a heavily fortified military installation, Tonu’s death sparked intense public outrage, prompting nationwide student protests and demands for accountability. Over the past decade, the case file transitioned through multiple investigative bodies, moving from local police to the Criminal Investigation Department and ultimately to the PBI. Hafizur’s arrest brought renewed attention to the long-standing inquiry, reigniting hopes for closure in one of the country’s most closely watched murder investigations.