The Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division has stayed the High Court bail granted to retired senior warrant officer Hafizur Rahman, a primary suspect in the long-unsolved Shohagi Jahan Tonu murder case. Directing swift action, the court ordered the accused to surrender within 24 hours, instructing law enforcement agencies to re-arrest him immediately if he fails to comply.
Attorney General Md. Ruhul Quddus Kajol confirmed the judicial order on Thursday, 6 August, following an urgent petition filed by the state seeking to overturn the suspect’s conditional release.
The legal turn of events follows a High Court bench decision on 2 August, where Justice Zafar Ahmed and Justice Sathika Hossain granted Hafizur a six-month interim bail. At the time, the bench issued a rule questioning why the accused should not receive permanent bail, giving state respondents four weeks to submit their formal reply. During those proceedings, Deputy Attorney General Sheuli Khanam and Assistant Attorneys General Sabbir Hossain, Md. Mizanur Rahman, Rezaul Karim, and Mir Moniruzzaman represented the prosecution, while advocate Moslem Uddin Bhuiyan appeared for the defence.
Upon securing the High Court order, Hafizur walked out of detention, prompting widespread media scrutiny and public concern. Driven by the gravity of the allegations, the state promptly moved the Appellate Division to challenge the decision and cancel his bail.
The Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) arrested the 52-year-old retired army official on 21 April from his residence in Keraniganj, Dhaka. His apprehension marked the first major breakthrough in a case that had languished without significant progress for years.
The murder traces back to 20 March 2016, when 19-year-old Shohagi Jahan Tonu—a student at Cumilla Victoria Government College and a passionate theatre activist—disappeared after leaving her quarter inside the Cumilla Cantonment to tutor local students. Following a desperate search by her family, her body was discovered later that night in a secluded wooded area near the cantonment’s power station, bearing clear marks of physical violence.
Because the crime occurred within a heavily fortified military complex, Tonu’s murder provoked intense public indignation and sparked nationwide demonstrations calling for justice. Over the years, the case bounced between multiple law enforcement divisions, moving from local police to the Criminal Investigation Department before landing with the PBI. Hafizur’s arrest and subsequent legal battles have put the decade-long investigation back in the spotlight, renewing public pressure for accountability.
