Fourteen years on, the bloodstains of some of Bangladesh’s most talked-about murders remain unwashed, not only from crime scenes, but from the conscience of the justice system.
When the interim government assumed office, one of its most publicised assurances was that long-stalled investigations – particularly the brutal murder of journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi, teenager Tanvir Muhammad Twaki, and college student Mosarrat Jahan Munia – would finally see progress. Families, civil society, and media professionals dared to hope that a non-partisan administration would bring transparency, urgency, and accountability to cases long mired in controversy.
But as the government’s tenure draws to a close, that promise remains largely unfulfilled.
Investigative progress has been negligible, deadlines repeatedly missed, and court submissions delayed yet again, deepening the anguish of families who have spent over a decade waiting for answers.
Sagar-Runi murder: Hope fades for a waiting son
Mahir Sarowar Megh was just five years old when his parents Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi were killed. He is now 19.
Marking 14 years since the murders, Megh wrote on Facebook on Tuesday, “Even after 14 years, I don’t know who killed my parents. I don’t even know if I will ever know why they were murdered. I am deeply frustrated with the system of this country.”
Saleha Monir, Sagar’s mother, said the interim government’s arrival had briefly rekindled hope; only to extinguish it again. “When this government came, we had so much hope. But that hope is over now. I don’t even know what to ask for anymore. I don’t know who will come to power next, or who will ensure justice. But as long as I breathe, I will keep demanding justice for my son and his wife.”
Sagar, news editor at Maasranga Television, and Runi, senior reporter at ATN Bangla, were found murdered in their rented apartment in West Rajabazar in February 2012.
In September last year, RAB was removed from the investigation. Following a High Court order, a high-powered taskforce led by the Police Bureau of Investigation was formed in October, with a six-month deadline to complete the probe.
Four months on, however, no visible progress has been reported. The investigation report, due in court on Monday, was not submitted by investigating officer ASP Azizul Haque, prompting Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Ariful Islam to set a new deadline of 1 April.
The report has now been deferred 124 times.
Twaki murder: 13 years without charge sheet
The same pattern of delay shadows the 2013 killing of Tanvir Muhammad Twaki in Narayanganj. Thirteen years on, investigators have still not filed a charge sheet.
Twaki’s father, Rafiur Rabbi, expressed anger that even the interim government failed to move the case forward. “The Sheikh Hasina government stalled justice in the Twaki case for eleven and a half years. But even after one and a half years in power, the current interim government has shown no visible progress. The charge sheet has still not been submitted.”
In 2014, RAB stated that members of the influential Osman family were involved. After the government’s fall in 2024, members of the family reportedly went into hiding. Rabbi alleged selective justice and political interference, “Case-trading, selective trials, stalled justice, everything has continued in the same model. Some in this government spoke about justice for Twaki, but in reality, nothing happened.”
Twaki disappeared in March 2013. His body was recovered two days later from the Shitalakshya River. Later that year, a confessed accomplice testified in court that he was abducted and killed under the direction of Azmeri Osman.
Munia murder: Allegations of influence
In the death of college student Mosarrat Jahan Munia, the victim’s family also alleges stalled justice.
Munia was found dead in a Gulshan apartment in April 2021. Her sister filed cases against Bashundhara Group Managing Director Sayem Sobhan Anvir and others.
In October 2022, the PBI submitted its report, clearing all accused, including Anvir, of rape and murder charges.
The family maintains that the involvement of powerful individuals derailed the case’s progress.
