Red notices issued against 2 ex-army personnel

Interpol has issued Red Notices against two former army personnel over the 2016 murder of college student Sohagi Jahan Tonu in Cumilla, police said on Wednesday.

The notices were issued against former sergeant Md Zahiduzzaman, 48, and former soldier Md Shahin Alam, 37, following a request from the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) through Bangladesh Police’s National Central Bureau (NCB-Dhaka).

Investigation sources said the two have emerged as key accused based on evidence gathered during the probe. Their current whereabouts remain unknown, and both are absconding.

Tonu, 19, a history student at Cumilla Victoria Government College and a theatre activist, went to tutor at a house inside Cumilla Cantonment on the evening of 20 March 2016. She did not return home, and her body was later found in a bush near the cantonment’s powerhouse.

The murder sparked widespread protests and public outrage across Bangladesh.
The PBI took over the investigation in October 2020. In April this year, investigators obtained court permission to collect and cross-match DNA samples from three former army personnel-Zahiduzzaman, Shahin Alam and former senior warrant officer Hafizur Rahman.

While investigators were unable to trace Zahiduzzaman and Shahin, Hafizur was arrested from his home in Keraniganj on 21 April. He was later released on bail but was arrested again following an Appellate Division order.

In June, a Cumilla court directed authorities to take legal steps, including seeking Interpol assistance, to trace and arrest Zahiduzzaman and Shahin.

The PBI subsequently sent their information and documents to NCB-Dhaka, which sought Interpol’s assistance.

The Red Notices were issued separately on 2 September, according to police.