Family members and the journalist community have passed another year of hopelessness as the investigators failed to unearth the mystery of the journalist couple Sagar-Runi murders in the last 11 years.
Justice remains a far cry as the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has yet to make any headway in the case. So far, the investigators have appeared in court at least 95 times to seek time to submit the probe report in the case.
The victims' family members termed the ongoing investigation an eyewash, while journalist leaders describe it as a continuation of the culture of impunity.
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Thursday said he would instruct RAB to submit the probe report quickly. "We also want the mystery of this murder case to unfold quickly," he told reporters after receiving a memorandum from leaders of Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) at his ministry office.
Sagar Sarwar, the then news editor of Maasranga TV, and his wife Meherun Runi, senior reporter of ATN Bangla, were murdered at their rented apartment at Paschim Razabazar in the capital on February 11, 2012.
Mahir Sarwar Megh, the couple's five-year-old son, was in the house when his parents were killed.
The double murder sparked a nationwide outcry, particularly among journalists, demanding justice for the slain couple.
Top officials of the government as well as law enforcement agencies visited the couple's residence. They met their child Megh and assured the families of speedy justice. Then home minister Sahara Khatun vowed to bring the killers to justice within 48 hours.
Families in despair
Dhaka Tribune spoke to Runi's brother Nowsher Alam Roman, who filed the case with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police station.
“We are frustrated as the investigation and trial of many sensational murder cases are being done, but there is no progress in this case.
“The dates of submitting the probe report were deferred 95 times. I will say that it is part of a drama…it is nothing but an eyewash…it is a mockery of the system,” he said.
“My mother had expected to see justice in the case, but her expectation did not fulfill as she died on January 5 last year,” he added. “Now, the investigation officer is not communicating with us,” Roman said.
Journalists aggrieved
To demand quick trial of the case, Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) has announced a protest rally in front of its office at Topkhana Road at 9:30am on Saturday.
DRU President Mursalin Nomani expressed frustration over the snail's pace of the probe.
“Eleven years have passed since the murder, but the investigators failed to submit the probe report till now. Our only demand is that we want justice,” he told Dhaka Tribune.
The case proceedings
The case was initially investigated by the Detective Branch (DB) of police but was transferred to RAB on April 18, 2012, when the detectives admitted to their failure to unearth the motives behind the gruesome murder. But RAB also could not make any visible headway into finding the motive or the culprits.
RAB investigators repeatedly said that they were working and would take appropriate legal steps when the investigators sought time in court. The Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate's Court has always accepted the agency's time pleas.
For the last time on January 4, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Rashidul Islam deferred the date of submitting the probe report till March 5.
RAB has so far submitted eight progress reports on the investigation, but none of the reports indicated that they had unearthed any significant clues.
The last progress report that RAB submitted before the court was on October 5, 2020.
The investigators have so far interrogated 158 people, including 27 journalists, and recorded Megh's statement. They also conducted tests on the DNA samples collected from the crime scene at a private laboratory in the US.
RAB also could not recover journalist Sagar's missing laptop, which may contain important clues.
On November 14, 2019, a High Court bench also expressed dismay over RAB's failure to make any progress in the case. During the hearing, the then RAB investigator Khandaker Shafiqul Alam submitted that there had been no progress in the investigations.
