Rab’s success will be faded if fails to unearth Sagor-Runi murder motive: HC

The High Court today observed that success of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) will be faded to some extent away if it cannot unearth the motive behind the murder of journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi and cannot arrest the offenders to put them on trial.

“It is undoubtedly a matter of regret and disappointment that the motive behind the murder was not unearthed and the offenders could not be identified and arrested through investigation and if they cannot be put on trial although a long period after the incident has passed away,” it observed.

The HC bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Md Mostafizur Rahman came up with the observation while delivering the verdict on a petition filed by accused Tanvir Rahman, who is now out on bail.     

The court said the success of Rab, as an elite and all-rounder technology equipped force, in resisting militancy, terrorism, drugs, illegal arms and food adulteration will be faded to some extent if this elite force cannot unearth the reasons and find out and arrest the offenders behind the killing of Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi and cannot put the offenders on trial.

The court ordered the investigation officer of the case to submit a report by March 4 on the latest position of its investigation and about the involvement of Tanvir Rahman with the incident.

The HC also exempted Tanvir Rahman from personal appearance before the trial court in connection with the case until the investigation report is not submitted to that court.

On November 11, IO Khondker Shafiqul Alam appeared before the HC bench as per its earlier order to explain the progress of the investigation and told the court the probe of the murder case is going on.

Relevant samples of the accused and the deceased have been sent to the laboratory of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the USA for DNA test, and the result is yet to come, he said while replying to the query from the HC.

Tanvir, an official of an English medium school in Dhaka, earlier submitted the petition to the HC for scrapping trial proceedings against him in the case.

The HC had granted bail to Tanvir Rahman in the double murder case on March 8, 2015.

Sagar, news editor at private TV channel Maasranga, and his wife Runi, a senior reporter at ATN Bangla, were killed in the early hours of February 11, 2012 at their rented flat in the capital’s West Razabazar.

After an investigation by Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police, Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) started probing the murder on April 18, 2012.

Rab and other agencies have taken more than 65 dates from the trial court concerned for completing the probe into the murder.

Advocate Fawzia Karim Firoze appeared for Tanvir while Deputy Attorney General Sarwar Hossain Bappi represented the state.