Sagar-Runi murder: Decade-long probe yields nothing

Family members and the journalist community are frustrated as the Rapid Action Battalion has failed to complete the investigation into the sensational murders of journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi in 10 years.

Sagar, the news editor of private television channel Maasranga and his wife Runi, a reporter of ATN Bangla, were stabbed to death in their rented apartment in the West Raja Bazar area of Dhaka on February 11, 2012.

The family said that they were gradually losing hopes of getting justice.

‘I don’t think there would be any justice over the murders during the tenure of the present government. I really doubt about their sincerity in ensuring justice,’ said Runi’s brother Nowsher Alam Roman, the plaintiff of the case filed over the double murders with the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police station in Dhaka.

He said that the investigating agency RAB hardly communicates with the family or shares the progress of their investigation.

‘Still, they kept asking very basic questions to us like who was at home at that time, what was the time of the occurrence. It is not time to ask these questions, it is time to hang the killers,’ he said.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Tariqul Islam on January 24 deferred the date of submitting the probe report on February 23.

With this, the court has so far deferred dates of submitting the probe report in the case 85 times.

RAB investigators repeatedly said that the ‘investigation was on’ and it ‘would take appropriate legal steps.’

Runi’s mother Nur Nahar Mirza passed away on January 5 without seeing that justice was served to her daughter and son-in-law’s murder.

The journalist’s couple’s son Mahir Sarowar Megh, who was in his room when his parents were killed, now turned 15 and started throwing some questions about the murders, said his uncle Nowsher.

Megh, who engaged himself in cricket, jersey designing and some other activities, said that he misses his parents badly.

After the murder of the journalist couple, the then home minister Sahara Khatun publicly promised to bring the assailants to book within 48 hours. Sahara was in office for another seven months.

After regular police and Detective Branch of the police, RAB was handed the charge of the investigations on April 18, 2012. In the past 10 years, the battalion changed six investigation officers without making any significant progress into the investigation.

RAB investigator and additional police superintendent Khandaker Shafiqul Alam submitted his report saying that there had been no progress in the investigation. He was the seventh investigator in the case since July 4, 2019.

RAB media wing director Khandaker Al Moin said that buccal swab and other DNA samples of 25 people were sent to Independent Forensic Service (IFS), USA, but the investigation authorities were yet to receive the result.

RAB investigators said that DNA samples were sent for forensic tests in the United States in 2012.

Following the murder, at least eight suspects — Sagar-Runi’s family friends Tanvir Ahmed, Enam Ahmed alias Humayun Kabir, Rafiqul Islam, Bakul Mia, Mitu alias Bargira Mintu alias Masum Mintu, Kamrul Hasan Arun, Palash Rudra Paul and Abu Sayeed — were arrested and quizzed for many days.

On March 8, 2015, Tanvir was freed on bail by the High Court while six other accused are in jail custody now. Palash went into hiding after he came out on bail.

On November 14, 2019, a High Court bench comprising Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman expressed their dismay at RAB’s failure to make any progress in the investigation into the case.

The bench then directed RAB to submit a report about the progress in probes by March 4, 2020.

Former inspector general of police Nurul Huda told New Age that there was no fixed timeframe for criminal case investigation, but it was not desirable that the investigation would be continued for an indefinite time.

He said that the court has control over investigations. It can ask the investigating officer why he has been making such a delay.

Runi’s brother Nowsher said that either the investigating agency was incapable of investigating the major and sensational case or they didn’t have the intention to complete the investigation. ‘Otherwise, the investigation should have been completed by now,’ he said.

Asked about that, Colonel KM Azad, additional director general (operations) of RAB, told New Age that they don’t lack in capacities or in determination and efforts to crack the case.

The victims’ family termed the ongoing investigation ‘eyewash’ while journalist leaders termed it as a continuation of the country’s culture of impunity in killing journalists.

Nowsher said that the journalists’ community has failed to pursue the demand for justice over the murders boldly and in a united way.

Senior journalist and The Observer editor Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, who was the president of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists faction in 2012, said he was ‘frustrated and angry,’ over the delay in the investigation.

‘It’s unfortunate and matter of shame that the law enforcing agencies have failed to complete their investigation into the sensational murder in a decade. This is not only about Sagar-Runi, justice was never served in any journalist’s murder,’ said Iqbal.