Sagar-Runi murder probe report deadline deferred for 123rd time

The investigation report in the murder case of journalist couple Sagar Sarwar and Meherun Runi was not submitted to court on Monday, January 5, leading to another extension of the deadline. This marks the 123rd time the report submission date has been deferred.

The report was scheduled to be submitted to the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court, but the Police Bureau of Investigation failed to file it within the stipulated time.

Metropolitan Magistrate Mahbub Alam set February 9 as the new deadline for submission. The matter was confirmed by Sub-Inspector Rafiqul Islam of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police prosecution division.

Sagar Sarwar and Meherun Runi were brutally murdered on February 11, 2012, at their rented apartment in West Rajabazar in the capital. Sarwar was news editor at Maasranga Television, while Runi was a senior reporter at ATN Bangla.

More than a decade later, the investigation was handed over to the PBI, which formally received documents from the Rapid Action Battalion on November 4 last year. The current investigating officer is Additional Superintendent of Police Md Azizul Haque, who said the probe had been restarted from the beginning.