Dhaka: A court here today set April 15 for filing a probe report in the case lodged over the murders of journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi, marking the 116th extension of the deadline for the submission of the report. Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate MA Azharul Islam passed the order, granting a time plea of the prosecution as the investigation agency failed to submit the report today.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the journalist couple was murdered at their rented flat in the city’s West Rajabazar on February 11, 2012, in the presence of their then four-year-old son Mahir Sarwar Megh. Runi’s brother Nawser Alam filed a murder case with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station. Initially, the Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police was responsible for the investigation, which was later transferred to the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). The agency has failed to submit the investigation report in court after taking time 111 times over the last 12 years.
On September 30, 2024, the High Court ordered the formation of a high-power task force through the Ministry of Home Affairs to probe the case, relieving RAB from the charge. Subsequently, on October 23, 2024, the government announced a four-member task force to investigate the double murder. This task force was established through a notification from the Ministry of Home Affairs, with instructions to submit its findings in six months.
The Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) was appointed as the task force convener, while the notification did not disclose the names of the other members. The task force includes representatives not below the rank of Additional Deputy Inspector General from Police Headquarters, the Criminal Investigation Department, and a RAB Director. The High Court on October 16, 2024, released the full text of its September 30 order, directing the shift of investigative authority from RAB to a high-powered task force.