A Dhaka court has placed the female friend of former Air Force official Tahsif Souri on a fresh three-day remand in a murder case filed over the recovery of his body.
The order was passed by Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Manzurul Islam on Wednesday afternoon after a hearing, prosecution lawyer Omar Faruk Faruqi confirmed.
The investigation officer, Inspector Firoz Uddin of the Tongi River Police outpost, produced the accused before the court after the end of her four-day remand and sought a fresh seven-day remand.
In the application, the investigation officer said the woman was questioned for four days from November 1 following a court order.
During interrogation, she said she had gone to Nest Bar and Restaurant in Uttara with Souri on the night of October 27, before the incident. She also said they had eaten at a fried chicken shop several times that evening and visited different places, including a motorcycle garage.
The application said the woman had provided several important pieces of information about the case during interrogation. These were kept confidential and verified for the sake of the investigation.
However, the investigation officer said the woman tactfully avoided answering several questions and remained silent during interrogation.
Another suspect in the case, Ahmed Shahriar Reza Dip, is also in police custody on remand. The investigation officer said the statements of the two suspects needed to be cross-checked to identify inconsistencies and similarities.
A review of Souri's mobile phone call records also showed that he had spoken to his female friend several times, the application said.
The investigation officer added that preliminary investigations had found evidence of the woman's involvement in the murder.
In the fresh remand application, the investigation officer cited seven reasons for further interrogation.
These included determining whether Souri and the woman had any arguments or altercations at the fried chicken shop and Nest Bar and Restaurant in Sector 18 of Uttara on the day of the incident, and whether there had been any tension in their relationship before the incident.
The investigation officer also said further interrogation was necessary to uncover the motive behind the murder, identify and arrest other suspects, recover evidence and cross-check the statements of the two accused.
The defence lawyers, including Mohammad Iman Hossain and Abdur Rahman, sought cancellation of the remand and bail for the accused. The prosecution opposed the plea.
After hearing both sides, the court granted a three-day remand.
The woman was detained from the Kafrul area around 2am on October 31. The following day, the court granted her a four-day remand.
Dip was also placed on a three-day remand in a separate order in connection with the same case.
Souri went missing after leaving home on the evening of October 27 at the invitation of his junior friend Dip.
His body was recovered by river police from the Rajabari Ghat area of the Turag River the following afternoon.
Souri's father, KM Enayetul Karim, filed a murder case against unidentified persons with Uttarkhan police station at 1:05am on October 30.