Sagar-Runi murder probe deadline deferrals: 100 times and counting

"We also want the mystery behind the killings to be unravelled as soon as possible." Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said on Feb 9 this year

Time has stood still for the probe into the murders of journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi.

Ever since they were killed on a fateful February night in 2012, the investigating agency was changed twice, the investigation officer was changed five times, and the home ministry saw changes at its helm twice.

But no headway has been made in cracking the mystery in over a decade.

From March 19, 2012 to present, Rab has sought deferral of the deadline to submit its findings to courts 98 times and the two previous agencies did it twice. In total, the deadline has been put off 100 times.

But right after the murder, Sahara Khatun, the home minister at the time, vowed to catch the killers within 48 hours. That 48 hours have now rolled into over 99,000 hours, but the promise remains unfulfilled.

Meanwhile, the families' agonising wait for justice lingers on.

The family members now express doubts about the sincerity and willingness of the government to solve the murder mystery.

"All we can say is that we are utterly frustrated. We don't see any prospect of getting justice during this government's tenure," said Runi's brother Nowsher Alam Roman, who filed the double murder case with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station on February 12, 2012.

There is a lack of willingness on the government's part to ensure justice, he told The Daily Star.

Sagar Sarowar was a news editor at Maasranga TV and his wife Meherun Runi was a senior reporter at ATN Bangla. They were killed in the early hours of February 11, 2012, at their rented flat in the capital's West Rajabazar.

Their only child Mahir Sarowar Megh, only five at the time, was in the apartment.

EMPTY PROMISES

The extent of brutality shocked the nation. The autopsy reports said they died of wounds inflicted by sharp weapons.

In the days following the murders, police officers, detectives and ministers turned up at the couple's residence and promised justice without delay. Sahara Khatun's successor Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir, who was made the home minister in September 2012, set a deadline of October 10 to unravel the mystery.

But the promises and deadlines were seemingly intended to pacify the resentment among the general public and the journalist community.

Over the years, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan continued to repeat the same rhetoric. Just two days before the 11th anniversary of the murders, he said, "We want the mystery behind the killings to be unravelled as soon as possible."

Runi's brother Nowsher considers the statement an empty promise.

"Why couldn't they make a headway in the last 11 years despite the available evidence and the involvement of several law enforcement agencies?" he asked.

The government either doesn't want it solved or it wants to shelve the case to protect an influential individual involved in the crime, he said.

Even his mother Nur Nahar Mirza died last year without seeing justice for her daughter and son-in-law.

After the case was filed, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station was tasked with the investigation, which was handed over to the Detective Branch of police three days later on February 16, 2012. The case was transferred to the Rab in April 2012.

A Dhaka court is scheduled to hold a hearing on the case today.

Rab Additional SP Khandaker Md Shafiqul Alam is the sixth investigation officer in the case. He was given the job on July 7, 2019. He submitted a progress report in October 2020, and has been seeking time extensions to submit the probe report since then.

He refused to make comments on the probe.

Different journalist bodies have demonstrated many times over the years demanding justice.

"It is not just frustrating; it is extremely painful that we still do not know who killed them after so many years... People of the country are aggrieved by this," Mursalin Nomani, president of Dhaka Reporters' Unity, told the Daily Star.

Since the Rab is failing to submit a report, it should hand the investigation over to another agency, he added.

"We will not give up our movement until justice is delivered," Nomani said.

Noted rights activist Nur Khan said a successful investigation is not possible without the willingness of the state and the investigating agencies.

Contacted, Commander Khandaker Al Moin, director (media) of Rab, said buccal swabs of 25 suspects were sent to the Independent Forensic Service laboratory of the USA for DNA tests. Further investigation is going on regarding the DNA reports.

"Rab is conducting the investigation with utmost importance as per the directives of the learned court to ensure that no innocent person is punished and the real culprits are identified and brought to book," Moin added.