A Dhaka court has ordered the investigation officer in the murder case of journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi to appear in person and submit a progress report on the investigation.
According to court sources on Tuesday (12 August), the order came after the investigation officer, Additional Superintendent of Police Md Azizul Haque of the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), failed to submit the report on Monday, the scheduled date for its submission. Metropolitan Magistrate Minhajur Rahman directed that the officer must appear before the court on 14 September and present details on the progress of the case.
The case has seen its reporting deadline postponed 120 times due to repeated delays in submitting the investigation report.
Sagar, news editor at private TV channel Maasranga Television, and Runi, a senior reporter at ATN Bangla, were murdered on 11 February 2012 in their rented apartment in Dhaka’s West Rajabazar. At the time, their four-and-a-half-year-old son, Mehedi Sarowar Megh, was at home. Runi’s brother, Nawshad Alam Roman, later filed a murder case with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station.
The accused in the case are Rafiqul Islam, Bakul Mia, Masum Mintu, Kamrul Islam alias Arun, Abu Sayeed, two security guards of the couple’s residence — Palash Rudra Pal and Enayet Ahmed — and their friend Tanvir Rahman Khan. Among them, Tanvir and Palash are out on bail, while the others remain in custody.
The case was initially investigated by Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police before being transferred to the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, and later to the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).
On 30 September last year, the High Court removed RAB from the investigation, directing that a high-powered task force formed by the Ministry of Home Affairs would take over. The four-member task force is led by the PBI chief.
During the High Court hearing, the bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Muhammad Mahbub Ul Islam expressed hope that this time justice would be ensured, instructing that the six-month investigation period granted to the task force must be strictly followed.
The High Court has scheduled 6 April for its next order in the case.
