Online Desk –The submission of the investigation report in the journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi murder case has been deferred once again, marking the 127th extension.
A Dhaka court has set July 22 as the new deadline for submitting the probe report.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Ariful Islam fixed the new date on Thursday after the investigation agency failed to submit the report today. Rafikul Islam Russel, the General Recording Officer of Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station, confirmed the matter.
Earlier on August 14, 2024, the investigation officer of the case, Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) Additional Superintendent of Police Md. Azizul Haq, appeared before the court and shared updates on the investigation.
He stated that since taking over the responsibility, 70 witnesses had been interrogated, progress was being made, and the probe was expected to be completed soon.
Expressing dissatisfaction over the prolonged delay, the court had issued warnings, but the report remains unsubmitted.
On September 30, 2024, the High Court removed the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) from the investigation due to persistent delays and assigned the responsibility to the PBI, leading to the appointment of a new investigation officer.
Golam Mostafa Sarowar, alias Sagar Sarowar, the news editor of Maasranga Television, and his wife Meherun Nabar, alias Meherun Runi, a senior reporter for ATN Bangla, were brutally murdered in their rented apartment in the capital’s West Rajabazar area on February 11, 2012.
Following the sensational double murder, Runi’s brother, Nowsher Alam Roman, filed a case with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station.
The case was initially handled by the local police. Having failed to uncover any leads within four days, the case was transferred to the Detective Branch (DB) of police. After investigating for over two months, DB also failed to solve the mystery.
Later, following a High Court order on April 18, 2012, RAB took over the investigation. However, no agency has been able to submit a comprehensive probe report or unearth the motive behind the murders in over nine years.
It is worth noting that eight individuals were arrested in connection with the Sagar-Runi murder. They are—Kamrul Islam alias Arun, Abu Said, Rafikul Islam, Bokul Miah, Masum Mintu, Palash Rudra Paul, Anamul Haq alias Humayun Kabir, and Tanveer Rahman Khan.
Currently, Tanveer and Palash are out on bail, while the remaining suspects remain in prison.