Gone with Tonu joys of her family

The parents of Sohagi Jahan Tonu will spend this Eid, reminiscing about their joyous Eid celebrations with their daughter who was found murdered inside the C omilla Cantonment on M arch 20.

In the last three years, Tonu brought them new clothes ahead of Eid with the money she earned by tutoring children. On Eid days, she prepared dishes, which she had learnt from cooking shows on television, for the family and guests.

"Now we only have memories of those joyful days,” said her mother Anwara Begum with tears welling in her eyes.

"Our happiness was buried along with her…. W e will be a bit happy only if justice is delivered for Tonu.”

The family will visit her grave on Eid day to remember the once cheerful girl.

Y aar H ossain, father of  T onu, said his daughter chose the panjabi and pajama for him last year.

" This year, no one would choose my dresses.  K illers brutally killed my ma (mother) ,” said   H ossain with a sigh.

"  Tears rolled down my cheeks during Iftar every day."  

With a choked-up voice, Hossain said he now only demands the arrest and trial of Tonu's killers.

But justice for T onu , who had talents in singing, dancing a nd     painting, seems a distant thing.

 T he two autopsies done on her body could not determine the cause of her death     though Y aar H ossain saw the back of his daughter's head smashed and injury marks on her nose when he found the body in a bush on the night of March 20.

T he police inquest report also did not cite any sign of injury to the body.

According to  t he first autopsy conducted on M arch 21 by  S harmin  S ultana, a lecturer of  the forensic m edicine d epartment of C omilla M edical C ollege, there was no sign of rape.

" N o sign of forceful sexual intercourse is found.   T he victim was not pregnant. T he cause of her death could not be determined,"  says the report.

I t was the D N A  test results that found T onu was raped before being killed.

 Revealing the findings, Criminal Investigation  Department  officials on  M ay 16 said the DN A  tests of the specimens collected from T onu's clothes found three spermatozoa of three males.

 A three-member medical board submitted the report of the second autopsy two and a half months after it conducted the autopsy on March 30.

The doctors cited evidences of " sexual intercourse"  in the decomposed body.

T he board led by P rof K amoda P rosad  S aha submitted the report to the C I D  only after the investigation agencies handed the D N A  report to the doctors.

 T onu's family and rights and cultural leaders and activists rejected the findings of both the autopsies, saying that those were manipulated. 

T he doctors, however, rejected the claim.

 T he hope that the victim's family had after the DN A  test findings has faded as  the C I D   is yet to seek the court permission for matching the D N A samples   with the suspects'.

N azmul  K arim K han, special superintendent of the C I  D,  Comilla-Noakhali  division, in M ay told   T he D aily S tar, " We have shortened our list of suspects and now we will see if the samples match any of the suspects. "

O n  J une 20,  the C ID  official said they would soon start matching the D N  A  samples with the suspects' upon receiving the court's permission.

This correspondent tried to contact him by phone several times to know about the latest development but he did not receive any call.

 T onu's mother  A nwara, however, said, " N azmul K arim  sir told us that they [authorities] would go for D N  A  matching after E id."

So, these Eid holidays would probably be the longest for the family as it would look forward to seeing any progress in the investigation of Tonu's murder.