Protests proliferate in Bangladesh as police fail to catch teenage Tonu murder suspects

Bangladesh is seething with anger as police have not been able to make arrests for the rape and murder of Sohagi Jahan Tonu inside the Comilla Cantonment.

Staff CorrespondentComilla Correspondent and bdnews24.com
Published : 23 March 2016, 11:11 PM
Updated : 23 March 2016, 11:34 PM

Police claim to be working on the case to unfold the motive, but have stayed away from commenting on the progress ‘because of the ongoing probe’.

Many organisations on Wednesday demonstrated in Comilla, Dhaka and other districts in protest against the incident that has caused a social media firestorm.

Tonu’s father Yaar Hossain, a fourth-class employee at Cantonment Board, had started a case with Kotwali police. But none of the killers has been identified or held three days into the murder.

Comilla district’s Superintendent of Police Shah Abid Hossain on Wednesday told reporters that they were doing everything they can. “But we can’t say anything else right now for the sake of investigation.”

He said they were still waiting for the autopsy report to determine whether the girl was raped before murder.

The body of 19-year old Tonu, with her head smashed, was found in a bush near a culvert at the cantonment’s Alipur area on Mar 20 night.

After recovering the body, police, based on the findings at the crime scene, had said that the girl was first raped and then murdered.

After her autopsy at Comilla Medical College Hospital on Monday, Tonu was buried at her village home at Muradnagar Upazila’s Mirzapur.

Tonu was in her second year studying history at Comilla Victoria College. She was also into theatre and lived with her family at Alipur.

Quoting her family, Tonu’s classmate Mainul Haque said she used to give private tuition to earn some extra money.

Tonu had left her student’s house at around 7:30pm on Sunday for home, but did not get there.

Students and cultural activists in Comilla held rallies and human chains, took out protest marches while some demonstrated by blocking the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway near Kotbarhi for an hour on Wednesday afternoon.

The protesters ended their agitations by giving authorities 48 hours to arrest the culprits.

Later in the day, Ganajagaran Mancha at Dhaka’s Shahbagh held a rally and took out a procession demanding justice for Tonu.

Several organisations including Nari Sanghati, Bangladesh Chhatra Union and Bangladesh Chhatra Federation also held protest programmes.

Student and cultural organisations demonstrated in other districts including Chittagong against the murder.

Furore on social media

Facebook, Twitter, blogs and other social media users have erupted in furore in no less intensity.

Many have criticised the silence of the local administration while some questioned how such incident could take place inside a high-security area such as cantonment.

Some users on Facebook called for justice for Tonu while several others urged the prime minister’s intervention in the matter.

Followed by the agitations in the capital, a Facebook event titled ‘We Are Tonu’ has called for a mass protest at the Dhaka University’s TSC at 4pm on Thursday.