Police have arrested an auto-rickshaw driver in connection with the death of 14-year-old schoolgirl Jannatul Tajmin, whose body was recovered from a paddy field in Jagatpur village in Cumilla’s Lalmoi Upazila. The suspect, identified as Sumon, was detained in Chattogram on Friday afternoon, 9 October. Police said he had been in hiding since the incident.
Investigators are examining several aspects of the case, including signs of a possible struggle across nearby paddy fields, an overturned CNG-powered auto-rickshaw and information obtained from the teenager’s mobile phone. Authorities have yet to establish the precise circumstances of her death or determine whether anyone else was involved.
Mohammad Lutfur Rahman, additional superintendent of police (administration) in Cumilla, confirmed the arrest to the newspaper Samakal at around 3.15pm on Friday. He said Sumon was being brought to Cumilla for questioning. Further details about the alleged killing would be disclosed after investigators had questioned him.
Tajmin’s body was recovered on Thursday morning, 8 October, from a paddy field beside an isolated paved road near the Cumilla–Noakhali regional highway in Jagatpur village, under Perul North Union of Lalmoi Upazila. A gamcha, a traditional cotton towel, was wrapped around her neck. Police initially suspected that she had been strangled, although the precise cause of death will need to be established through a post-mortem examination.
Signs of a Struggle Across Several Paddy Fields
Local residents said they became suspicious after spotting an overturned CNG-powered auto-rickshaw beside the deserted road on Thursday morning. A vanity bag was lying approximately 20 to 30 yards from the vehicle.
They also noticed that rice plants in four or five nearby paddy fields had been flattened and badly damaged. The scattered signs of disturbance raised the possibility that the teenager had been chased or that a struggle had taken place before her death. However, the significance of these findings has yet to be established by investigators.
Following the trail of damaged crops, residents found the girl’s body lying face down in the mud. They subsequently contacted the police through Bangladesh’s national emergency service, 999.
Police arrived at the scene, recovered the body and seized the auto-rickshaw for examination. Investigators are examining the physical evidence and other available information to reconstruct the events leading up to the teenager’s death.
The overturned vehicle, the bag found nearby and the disturbed crops could help establish what happened at the location. Police have not yet disclosed whether forensic examinations have established a direct connection between these items and the suspected killing.
Vehicle Registration Leads Police to Driver
According to police, the registration details of the seized auto-rickshaw helped them identify its owner. The owner was questioned on Thursday night and reportedly told investigators that Sumon had been operating the vehicle on a rental basis.
Police subsequently traced Sumon and arrested him in Chattogram on Friday. He was reportedly in hiding following the incident.
Local residents said Sumon was originally from Kachua Upazila in Chandpur district. After getting married several years ago, he began living at his in-laws’ home in Joynagar village in Lalmoi. He was locally known as a ghorjamai, a husband who lives with his wife’s family.
According to residents, a family dispute led him to leave his in-laws’ home about a month before the incident. They said he had not returned since then.
Police have not confirmed whether these personal circumstances have any connection to the killing. Nor have they publicly established whether Sumon knew Tajmin before the incident or what circumstances may have brought them into contact.
His arrest provides investigators with a suspect to question, but his precise role in the case remains to be determined. Police are also seeking to establish whether other individuals may have been involved.
Mobile Phone Records Trace the Teenager’s Movements
Investigators have analysed Tajmin’s mobile phone call records and other available information to establish her movements in the days before her death. Police said the analysis provided leads about the places she had visited.
According to the police account, Tajmin left home on 4 October, telling her family that she was going to visit a female friend. However, analysis of her phone records indicated that she travelled to Brahmanbaria that day.
She returned to Cumilla on 5 October and set off for Cox’s Bazar in the early hours of the following morning, according to the information provided by investigators.
On 7 October, she left Cox’s Bazar at around 12.30pm and arrived at Padua Bazar in Cumilla at approximately 10.30pm. She got down in front of Nurjahan Hotel, police said.
Closed-circuit television footage reportedly showed her getting out of a vehicle alone. Images from nearby cameras also captured her walking around with a mobile phone in her hand and a bag over her shoulder.
She was subsequently seen moving towards the road, after which her movements were no longer captured by the cameras examined by investigators.
The footage and mobile phone records are central to efforts to establish how Tajmin travelled between districts, whom she may have encountered and how she reached the area where her body was eventually found.
Investigators have yet to provide a complete account of her movements after she left Padua Bazar. Establishing her route and identifying any people she may have met could help clarify the circumstances surrounding her final hours.
Father Says Daughter Sent Distress Messages
Following the recovery of the body, Tajmin’s father, Abdul Alim, told journalists that his daughter had sent him messages and her live location late on Wednesday night. According to him, she indicated that she was being held against her will and asked him to rescue her.
Alim said he had been asleep when the messages arrived and did not see them immediately. He discovered them early the following morning and followed the live location, only to learn that his daughter had died.
The messages and location information could provide investigators with important evidence about the teenager’s final hours, including where she believed she was being held and the circumstances in which she sought help. The full contents of the messages and their precise significance have not been publicly established.
Tajmin was a Year Seven pupil at Farida Vidyayatan in Cumilla city. Her father works in the Cumilla region for Renata, a pharmaceutical manufacturing company.
Although the family originally came from Chhatiantala village in Jessore Sadar Upazila, they had been living in rented accommodation in the Racecourse area of Cumilla city because of her father’s employment.
The circumstances of Tajmin’s journeys to Brahmanbaria and Cox’s Bazar, followed by her return to Cumilla and the messages sent to her father, have become important aspects of the investigation.
Murder Case Filed Against Unidentified Suspects
Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Lalmoi Police Station, told Samakal that Tajmin’s father had filed a murder case against unidentified individuals.
Police intend to question Sumon after bringing him to Cumilla and will provide further information as the investigation progresses. Authorities have not yet confirmed whether additional suspects have been identified.
Investigators are seeking to establish what happened between Tajmin’s arrival at Padua Bazar and the recovery of her body in Jagatpur. They are also examining the significance of the overturned auto-rickshaw, the vanity bag found nearby and the damaged rice plants across several fields.
The post-mortem examination is expected to help determine the precise cause of death, while CCTV footage, mobile phone records and physical evidence may help clarify the sequence of events.
Several key questions remain unanswered. Police have yet to establish whether Sumon was the sole person involved, whether anyone else assisted him or what circumstances led to the teenager’s death.
The investigation is continuing, with police relying on questioning, forensic findings, witness accounts and digital evidence to establish what happened to the 14-year-old schoolgirl.
