Thirteen years after the high-profile murder of journalist couple Sagor Sarowar and Meherun Runi, conflicting information is surfacing about the case files.
During a court hearing on Tuesday, Additional Attorney General Arshadur Rauf, appearing for the state, stated that there has been progress in the investigation, “but we need more time as a fire at the DB office on August 5 burned many records.”
Immediately after his remarks, several private television channels broadcast breaking news that files related to the case had been destroyed in the fire. Jamuna TV’s news portal also published a similar report.
However, the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), which is currently handling the case under a task-force, issued a clarification: “Some are reporting that DB’s files were burned, which is not correct. There was no mention of fire damage. Arshad Rauf stated that since most DB officers had been transferred, locating old files and documents is taking time.”
Later, at around 1:45 PM, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) posted a “special statement” on their official Facebook page, asserting: “The news circulating in various electronic and print media claiming that Sagar-Runi murder case documents were destroyed in DB custody is incorrect.”
A source also indicated that all documents related to the case had long been digitally archived by DMP and that multiple law enforcement agencies still possess them.
Meanwhile, the high-powered task-force was granted by the High Court another six months to complete the investigation. The High Court bench, comprising Justice Fatema Najib and Justice Shikder Mahmudur Razi, issued the order and set October 22 as the next date for review.
Earlier, on September 30 last year, the High Court had ordered the formation of a task-force consisting of experts from various agencies due to the lack of progress. The court also instructed the report to be submitted within six months.
As the deadline passed without submission, the state sought an additional nine months, but the court granted only six.
Since the beginning, the investigation has changed hands multiple times—from Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police to DMP’s Detective Branch, and finally to RAB. Due to the persistent lack of progress, the High Court assigned the case to RAB on April 18, 2012. Later the case went to PBI last year.
Sagor Sarowar, news editor at Maasranga TV, and Meherun Runi, senior reporter at ATN Bangla, were brutally murdered in their rented apartment in West Rajabazar, Dhaka. Runi’s brother Nausher Alam filed the murder case with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station.
Thirteen years on, with the mystery still unresolved, investigating agencies have faced sustained criticism.