Play store
Police have identified Sumon, the CNG-run auto-rickshaw driver who allegedly carried schoolgirl Jannatul Tazmin, 15, whose body was recovered from a paddy field in Lalmai, Cumilla. Investigators are treating him as the prime suspect in the case.
Although reports have emerged that one person has been arrested in connection with Tazmin’s death, police have not officially confirmed whether the person is Sumon.
According to sources involved in the investigation, Sumon is originally from Kachua upazila in Chandpur. He had been living at his in-laws’ home in Joynagar village in Bagmara South, Cumilla. He reportedly sold his house about a month ago and left the area. Sources also said he was addicted to drugs.
On Thursday (October 8), police took Sumon’s sister, brother-in-law and aunt-in-law into custody for questioning as part of efforts to identify and apprehend him. Raids were subsequently conducted based on information obtained from them. A source claimed Sumon had been arrested in Chattogram, but police have yet to confirm the report.
Tazmin’s body was recovered early Thursday from a paddy field in Jagatpur village in Lalmai, beside the Cumilla-Noakhali regional highway. An abandoned CNG-run auto-rickshaw was found near the scene. The vehicle was reportedly driven by Sumon, a fact also confirmed by its owner.
Meanwhile, CCTV footage has emerged showing Tazmin’s movements on the night before her death. The footage shows her getting off an Iconic Paribahan bus from Cox’s Bazar in front of Nurjahan Hotel at Paduar Bazar in Cumilla at around 11:45pm on Wednesday (October 7).
She was then seen visiting a food stall beside the hotel and several stationery shops to the west. At one point, she stood in front of a shop and spoke to the shopkeeper.
After staying near the shop for some time around midnight, she moved to the other side of the road. At around 12:15am, she was seen leaving the Nurjahan Hotel area and boarding a CNG-run auto-rickshaw. Investigators believe she was heading home in the vehicle.
Tazmin’s father, Abdul Alim, said his only daughter had left their rented home in the Dhanmondi area of Racecourse in Cumilla city on October 4, saying she would visit a friend. She later travelled to Cox’s Bazar with that friend and began her return journey to Cumilla on Wednesday night.
Alim said he repeatedly called her mobile phone that night but received no response, raising concerns among family members.
At around 1:45am on Thursday, Tazmin sent him a message and her live location, asking him to come and take her home.
“I was asleep then. I saw the message in the morning. When I reached the live location, I saw that my daughter’s body was being recovered,” he said.
Officer-in-Charge of Lalmai Police Station Mizanur Rahman said the exact cause of Tazmin’s death had not yet been established. Although her identity was initially unknown, it was later confirmed.
Several police teams are working to uncover the circumstances surrounding her death and identify those involved, he said.
The OC added that investigators had learned that Sumon did not use a mobile phone and did not have a national identity card (NID).