Investigators have failed to recover two laptops belonging to journalist couple Sagar Sarwar and Meherun Runi found murdered in their bedroom in the capital on February 11 in 2012.
Five years have passed since the investigation into the murder case began and after taking over the probe, the elite force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) made no headway in unearthing the mystery behind the gruesome murder till date.
Sagar Sarowar, news editor of private TV channel Maasranga, and his wife Meherun Runi, senior reporter of ATN Bangla, were brutally killed at their rented flat in the capital's West Rajabazar. The then Home Minister, Shahara Khatun, had promised that the killers would be arrested within 48 hours but that too remained unfulfilled in all these years.
The RAB received the DNA test report from the USA but says it needs more time to analyse it considering the sensitivity of the case. RAB has already spent Tk 1 crore on the investigation. The RAB has so far, submitted five reports on the progress of the investigation with 'no clues.' The elite force also interrogated nearly 160 people, including 27 journalists, the case documents show.
The elite force RAB arrested eight suspects at times but could neither identify the killers nor establish the motive of the double murder. It arrested Abu Sayeed, Bakul Mia Rafiqul Islam and Mintu Islam, who were earlier detained in the physician Narayan Chandra Dutta Nitai murder case. The other arrested were security guards of the house Rudra Palash and Enamul Haque alias Humayun Kabir, driver Kamrul Hasan Arun and the slain journalists' friend Tanvir Rahman. Six of the arrested are in jail. Tanvir was granted bail by the High Court on December 2 in 2014.
The Investigation Officer (IO) of the sensational murder case has approached the court to extend the time for investigation 31 times over the last three years. The court mysteriously accepted the time extension prayers of the RAB each time it was submitted.
Commander Mufti Mahmud Khan, Director (Legal and Media wing) at the RAB headquarters, told the Daily Observer it is trying to find out the missing laptops. RAB also wrote to Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to help it find the laptops. "We attached the highest priority to unearthing the mystery of the gruesome killings," Mufti Mahmud said.
Frustrated with the DB's performance, the High Court in April 2012 handed over the case to the Rapid Action Battalion. The RAB interrogated as many as 100 people. In October 2012, the then Home Minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir announced a bounty of Tk 10 lakh for helping law enforcers arrest Humayun Kabir, the guard of Sagar-Runi's residence who was on the run. Humayun was arrested in 2015, but there has been no progress in the case since then.
Frustrated family members said they are being denied justice. The RAB investigators, however, said they were still working and looking into all possible aspects of the case to detect the motive and identify the perpetrators. The investigators had said that they would be able to identify the attackers by analyzing DNA profiles but it did not match with the suspects.
Meanwhile, Home Minister, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, told reporters at a function in the capital's Uttara on Thursday that he was not aware of any developments in the investigation. He said RAB is investigating the double murder and that the probe is underway.
Dwelling over the Home Minister's remarks, Runi's brother Nowsher Alam Roman, who filed the murder case with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police, expressed his frustration. He said he wonders if the Minister is aware that the investigators extended deadlines nearly 50 times to end their investigation.
"It is also disappointing that the elite force is taking such a long time in wrapping up the investigationnow a question arises if the authorities are at all willing to ensure justice in this particular case," Nowsher asked.
A Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Dhaka on Wednesday asked the IO to submit the progress report on the journalist-couple murder case by March 21.
Magistrate Mazharul Islam passed the order on Wednesday as the IO, Mahiuddin Ahmed, an assistant director of Rapid Action Battalion, failed to submit any probe report even after expiry of many deadlines.
Five subsequent investigation officers extended the time of investigation 46 times as endorsed by the court to complete the probe.
'We are sincerely investigating into the case. I am happy with my investigation. I need more time,' said Mahiuddin. The investigators also interrogated Rudra Palash and Humayun in custody for two days in September 2014 in which they claimed their innocence.
