Tonu murder case
Interpol issues Red Notices to arrest two former military personnel
Collected Photo
Interpol has issued Red Notices against two retired military personnel in the much-discussed murder case of Sohagi Jahan Tonu in Cumilla. They are former Sergeant Md. Zahiduzzaman and former soldier Md. Shaheen Alam.
The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) separately issued the notices against them on Tuesday, September 1, Bangladesh Police said.
Sources involved in the investigation said that during a stage of the investigation following Tonu’s murder, the need arose to collect DNA samples from Zahiduzzaman and Shaheen Alam. Although necessary steps were taken to collect their samples, they could not be found later.
Although Bangladesh Police confirmed that Red Notices had been issued against the two accused, no such information was found on Interpol’s website.
A police headquarters official explained the matter on Wednesday. He said that not all Interpol Red Notices are published on the agency’s public website. When Red Notices are issued against fugitives at the request of different countries, they are sent to the law enforcement agencies, international organizations and immigration authorities of the relevant countries.
At the time of Tonu’s murder, Zahiduzzaman was serving as a sergeant and Md. Shaheen Alam as a soldier at Cumilla Cantonment. Former military personnel Hafizur Rahman has already been arrested in the case and sent to jail. He is a former senior warrant officer of the Bangladesh Army. Hafizur Rahman retired from the Army in 2023 and was serving at Cumilla Cantonment when Tonu was murdered.
Investigation officer of the case and Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) Inspector Tarikul Islam said Hafizur Rahman was arrested from his home in Keraniganj, Dhaka, on April 21 in accordance with a court order. He was later released from jail on August 4 after obtaining bail from the High Court.
However, on August 6, the Appellate Division’s Chamber Judge’s Court stayed the bail granted to him by the High Court. At the same time, the court ordered him to surrender before the court within 24 hours. The court directed police to arrest him if he failed to surrender within the stipulated time.
Against this backdrop, the PBI said in a press release on August 8 that Hafizur Rahman had been rearrested as there was a risk that he might flee and in accordance with the court’s order.
