Sagar-Runi murder case report deferred for 131th time

A court in Dhaka has once again extended the deadline for submitting an investigation report into the murder of journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi, setting Dec 9 as the new date after investigators failed to complete their probe.

The latest extension marks the 131st time investigators have been given additional time to submit the report in a case that has remained unresolved for more than 14 years.

The report was scheduled to be submitted on Thursday (Nov 5) before the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Ariful Islam. However, the investigating agency failed to complete the investigation and file the report within the deadline. The court subsequently fixed Dec 9 for the next submission date.

Rafiqul Islam, a sub-inspector and official of the general registration branch of the court at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station, confirmed the development.

Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi were murdered at their rented apartment in the capital's West Rajabazar area on Feb 11, 2012. At the time, Sagar was the news editor of Maasranga Television, while Runi was a senior reporter at ATN Bangla. The day after the killings, Runi's brother, Nausher Alam Roman, filed a murder case with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station.

Police initially investigated the case before transferring it to the Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Detective Branch (DB). As the DB investigation made no progress, the High Court ordered the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) to take charge of the probe in April 2012.

After the mystery surrounding the murders remained unresolved for years, the High Court on Sept 30, 2024, ordered that RAB be removed from the investigation and directed the Home Ministry to form a high-powered task force to investigate the case. The investigation is now being conducted under that task force.

Despite nearly 15 years having passed, the investigation report has yet to be submitted, preventing the trial from beginning. The latest deadline extension to Dec 9 has further prolonged the wait for the report.