Sagar-Runi murder: Task force gets another 6 months to end probe
The government-formed task force again failed to submit its full-fledged probe report to the High Court today in connection with the murders of journalists Sagar Sarwar and Meherun Runi.
The task force, through Additional Attorney General Md Arshadur Rouf , today sought another six months' time from the HC to complete the inquiry into the case and submit the report to it.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Rouf told the HC bench led by Justice Fatema Najib that the task force is investigating the case and it has made some progress. It needs six more months to complete the probe, he added.
Later, the court granted the task force six months to complete the probe.
Meanwhile, Advocate Mohammad Shishir Manir, lawyer for the complaint of the Sagar-Runi murder case, vehemently opposed the task force's time petition.
He prayed to the HC bench to grant three months to the task force to submit the probe report and to summon the head of the task force before it to explain its stance on the probe.
On April 22, the HC granted the task force an additional six months to complete the investigation and to submit its report.
The bench of Justice Fatema and Justice Sikder Mahmudur Raji passed the order after Rouf sought nine months to complete the probe.
At the time, he told the court that several officials involved in the investigation had been changed or transferred over the years, delaying progress.
He also said forensic evidence related to the case had been sent to the US and that the task force was awaiting the report, which further delayed the investigation.
The HC fixed October 22 for further hearing.
Contacted, Md Mustafa Kamal, additional inspector general of police and chief of the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), who is leading the task force, recently told The Daily Star, "We will inform the High Court about all the progress of the investigation into this [Sagar-Runi murder] case. However, there isn't much positive news to share still now".
On September 30 last year, another HC bench led by Justice Farah ordered the home ministry to transfer the investigation responsibility from the Rapid Action Battalion and constitute a task force.
The task force was directed to complete the investigation and submit a report to the court within six months. That deadline expired on March 31 this year.
The bench had issued the order in response to a government petition filed on September 29 last year, seeking modification of a previous HC directive from April 18, 2012, which had ordered the inspector general of police to transfer the case from the Detective Branch to Rapid Action Battalion.
However, the Rab also failed to complete the probe.
On September 14, a Dhaka court issued the 122nd extension for the investigation officer to submit the report after expressing dissatisfaction over the repeated delays.
Sagar, news editor of private television channel Maasranga, and his wife, Runi, senior reporter at ATN Bangla, were murdered in their rented flat in West Rajabazar on February 11, 2012.
Runi's brother filed a murder case with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station the following day, without naming any suspects.
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