3 suspects to undergo DNA test in Tonu case

A Cumilla court on Monday directed authorities to conduct a DNA cross-match of three former army personnel with samples previously collected from the clothing of Sohagi Jahan Tonu, a Victoria College student who was murdered in 2016.

Cumilla Chief Judicial Magistrate Md Mominul Haque issued the order after Inspector Tariqul Islam of the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI)—the investigating officer of the case—appeared in court and requested permission to carry out the DNA cross-matching.According to the officer, DNA samples had been taken from Tonu’s personal clothing shortly after her death, but at the time, they were never compared with any suspects.

“The court has now directed that the DNA profiles of three individuals be cross-matched with the previously collected samples,” Tariqul said. He added that the three suspects are retired army personnel, though their identities have not been disclosed.Earlier on Monday, the PBI officer submitted a progress report to the court, which also instructed him to provide an updated report at the next hearing.

Tonu, a second-year history student at Victoria College, went missing on March 20, 2016, after leaving for private tuition inside Cumilla Cantonment. Her body was later found in a nearby forest area, prompting her father, Yar Hossain, to file a murder case at Cumilla Kotwali Model Police Station.The investigation has since shifted between multiple agencies—from local police to the Detective Branch, then the Criminal Investigation Department, and finally the PBI—but no breakthrough has been achieved so far.

Family members have repeatedly raised concerns about a lack of transparency, claiming that earlier DNA tests were conducted but their results were never released.Inspector Tariqul Islam is the sixth officer to lead the probe.