7 months on, no progress in probe yet

Even though seven months have passed since the killing of Comilla college student Sohagi Jahan Tonu, the investigators are yet to arrest any suspect in connection with the murder.

Even the Criminal Investigation Department has not asked the court for permission to cross-match the DNA samples collected from the victim's clothes with any suspects.

In May, when CID officials said DNA test results had found three spermatozoa on Tonu's clothes and that she had been raped before her murder, the family started hoping for justice.   

The sluggish investigation into the sensational murder over the last seven months frustrated the family, fading away their hope of getting justice. 

"Now, my only wish to live longer is to see the justice of my daughter's killing as I do not know how long the investigators will take to arrest any of the killers,” said Yaar Hossain, father of Tonu.

Yaar has fallen sick after losing his only daughter and expressed such a wish while talking to The Daily Star over phone yesterday.  

Contacted, Investigation Officer of the case Jalal Uddin, assistant superintendent of the CID of Comilla-Noakhali division, told a Comilla correspondent that the investigation was going on and there was no update to say.

Tonu, a second-year history student of Comilla Victoria College and a theatre activist, was found murdered inside the Comilla Cantonment on March 20.

Two autopsies could not determine the cause of her death though her father, who first spotted the body in a bush, saw the back of his daughter's head smashed and injury marks on her nose.

The police inquest report did not cite any sign of injury.

Talking to The Daily Star over phone yesterday, Tonu's mother Anwara Begum said, “We are frustrated with the investigation progress of the case. We will have some comfort, if we get justice.”

CID officials are just saying they are looking into the case seriously, she said.