The Appellate Division has suspended the High Court bail granted to former army warrant officer Hafizur Rahman in the murder case of Comilla Victoria College student Sohagi Jahan Tonu.

Hafizur has been ordered to surrender before the relevant lower court within 24 hours, Attorney General Md Ruhul Quddus Kazal said on Thursday.

Justice Md Rezaul Haque issued the order on Thursday after hearing the state’s petition.

“If Hafizur does not surrender within 24 hours, the lower court will direct law enforcers to arrest him,” Kazal told bdnews24.com.

The next hearing is set for Sunday.

Nearly a decade after Tonu’s murder, the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) arrested Hafizur from his Keraniganj home on Apr 22 this year. He was the case’s only suspect who was arrested.

The High Court granted him bail on Aug 2, and he was released from Cumilla jail two days later. The state subsequently challenged the order.

Tonu disappeared on Mar 20, 2016 after leaving for a tutoring job inside Cumilla Cantonment. Her body was later found in bushes near the power house.

Her father brought charges against unidentified people the following day.

Police, DB and CID investigated for years before the case was transferred to PBI in 2020.

PBI investigators later sought DNA profiling of several former military personnel and comparisons with samples recovered from Tonu’s clothing.

A court also ordered Interpol red notices for two key suspects.