A Dhaka court on Monday set 1 April as the new deadline for submitting the investigation report in the high-profile murder case of journalists Sagar Sarwar and Meherun Runi, after investigators once again failed to complete the probe.
Metropolitan Magistrate Arifur Rahman also ordered the investigating officer, Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) Additional Superintendent of Police Md Azizul Haque, to appear before the court in person and explain the repeated delays.
This marks the 124th deferment of the investigation report in the case.
Nine individuals have been named as accused. Among them, Tanvir Rahman Khan and security guard Palash Rudra Pal are currently out on bail, while the remaining accused remain in custody.
Sagar Sarwar, news editor of Maasranga Television, and Meherun Runi, senior reporter at ATN Bangla, were killed at their Dhaka residence on 11 February 2012. The case was filed by Runi’s brother Nowsher Alam Roman with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station.
The investigation has shifted hands multiple times. It was initially handled by local police, then transferred to the Detective Branch, and later to the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) following High Court orders. None of these agencies completed the probe.
In September last year, the High Court directed the formation of a high-powered task force of experienced investigators. A four-member team, headed by the PBI chief, was formally established in October through a Ministry of Home Affairs notification.
The court’s directive underscores the urgency for accountability in one of Bangladesh’s most closely watched journalist murder cases, nearly 14 years after the killings.
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