A Dhaka court has set new date of July 22 for submission of the investigation report in the murder case of journalist couple Sagar Sarwar and Meherun Runi.
With this, the submission of the investigation report has been delayed 127 times.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Ariful Islam set the new date on Thursday (June 18) after a hearing.
According to prosecution Sub-Inspector Rafiqul Islam Russell, the investigating agency sought additional time as it could not complete the investigation.
The case has eight accused, including Runi's friend Tanvir Rahman. The other accused are house security guards Enam Ahmed alias Humayun Kabir and Rafiqul Islam, Bokul Mia, Mintu alias Bargira Mintu alias Masum Mintu, Kamrul Hasan Arun, Palash Rudra Pal and Abu Sayeed. Although each of the accused has been remanded several times during the investigation, none has made a confessional statement before the court.
The journalist couple was brutally murdered at their rented apartment in West Rajabazar, Dhaka, at night of February 11, 2012. Sagar Sarowar was the News Editor of Maasranga Television, while Meherun Runi was a Senior Reporter at ATN Bangla. Their bloodstained bodies were recovered from their residence the following morning, sparking nationwide outrage and demands for a swift investigation.
Following the murders, Runi's brother, Nowsher Alam Roman, filed a murder case with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station. The investigation was initially conducted by a sub-inspector of the police station before being transferred to the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police four days later. After more than two months of investigation, the DB failed to identify the killers or establish the motive behind the crime.
On April 18, 2012, the investigation was handed over to the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) as per the High Court directive. Despite years of investigation under the elite force, the case remained unresolved, with repeated delays in submitting the investigation report.
In a significant development, the High Court on September 30 last year ordered the formation of a high-powered task force comprising experienced investigators from multiple law enforcement agencies to complete the investigation within six months. The court also directed that RAB be removed from the investigation.
Subsequently, on October 17, the Public Security Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a gazette notification forming a four-member high-level task force headed by the chief of the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) to oversee and complete the long-pending investigation.
More than fourteen years after the gruesome double murder, the case remains unresolved, with repeated delays continuing to frustrate the victims family, fellow journalists and rights advocates seeking justice.
AL/TF
