Sagar-Runi murder: Time extended again for probe report submission, deferred 130 times so far
Photo: Collected
5 November has been fixed as the new date for submission of the investigation report in the case over the murder of journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi. With this, the date for submitting the report in this much-talked-about case has been deferred 130 times. After a hearing on Wednesday (30 September), the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Ariful Islam fixed this date.
The report was due to be submitted on that very day. But as the investigating agency, the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), could not submit it, the judge gave a new date. Sub-Inspector Rafiqul Islam of the prosecution division confirmed this information.
Maasranga Television news editor Sagar Sarowar and ATN Bangla senior reporter Meherun Runi were murdered on 11 February 2012. Runi’s brother Nowsher Alam Roman filed a murder case with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station over the incident.
The accused in the case are Rafiqul Islam, Bakul Mia, Masum Mintu, Kamrul Islam alias Arun, Abu Sayeed, the two security guards of Sagar-Runi’s house, Palash Rudra Paul and Enayet Ahmed, and their ‘friend’ Tanvir Rahman Khan. Of them, Tanvir and Palash are on bail, and the rest are in jail.
Their four-and-a-half-year-old son, Mahir Sarowar Megh, was in the house when the couple were murdered at their rented flat in West Rajabazar in the capital.
Initially, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar thana police investigated the case. Later, the investigation went to the Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, and after that the SRB (formerly RAB) got the responsibility.
On 30 September last year, the High Court removed the responsibility for the investigation from the SRB and ordered a high-powered task force formed through the Ministry of Home Affairs to investigate.
The High Court Division bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Muhammad Mahbub Ul Islam said in the order that from now on a high-powered task force formed through the Ministry of Home Affairs will investigate this murder case.
In line with that order of the higher court, the government formed a four-member task force on 23 October, with the chief of the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) made its convener.
