2nd death anniv of Sagar & Runi
Even though two years have passed, the police have made no headway in the Sagar-Runi murder case yet. This has sparked confusion and uncertainty among those who are seeking justice for the murder of the journalist couple in their rented apartment. So far, law enforcers have arrested eight persons in this connection. The elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), now dealing the case, also re-exhumed the bodies of the couple from the Azimpur graveyard. However, no progress has been made in the case till date.
Sagar Sarowar, news editor of the private television channel Maasranga, and his wife Meherun Runi, senior reporter of another private tv channel ATN Bangla, were murdered in their rented apartment, in presence of their five-year-old son Megh at West Rajabazar area in the city on February 11, 2012.
The then home minister, Shahara Khatun, had promised that the killers would be arrested within 48 hours. Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir, who replaced Shahara on October 10, 2012, said they have identified seven suspects in the murder case. The incumbent state minister for home, Asaduzzaman Kamal, expressed optimism that they would be able to resolve the mystery behind the killings as soon as possible.
Talking to The Independent, Saleha Munir, mother of Sagar, said the law enforcers have failed to arrest the murderers of her son. “I don’t know whether I would be able to witness justice meted out to the killers of my son and daughter-in-law in my lifetime,” she added.
Meherunnesa Mirza, mother of Runi, told The Independent that the security of Megh is in jeopardy as the killers are still at large. “Megh is the only witness of the gruesome and barbaric murder of his parents. We’re worried about his security,” she added.
Law enforcers could neither find any clue nor identify the persons responsible for the killing, although the investigators claimed that they have arrested eight people, along with two security guards of the rented flat and a family friend, Tanvirul Islam, and interrogated more than 200 people and completed the DNA tests of 16 people, including those seven people who were arrested earlier.
Golam Nowsher Alam Roman, brother of Runi, had filed a case with Sher-e-Banglanagar Police Station on February 12, 2012. The case had been shifted to the Detective Branch police within a week. Frustrated over the failure in identifying the killers of Sagar and Runi, the High Court had ordered it to hand over the case to the RAB on 18 April the same year.
The court, during the hearing of a rule, directed the inspector general of police to instantly comply with the order. A highly experienced and competent RAB official, not below the rank of assistant superintendent of police, would conduct the investigation now and submit a report as soon as possible, the court said, adding that the order came into effect from that date.
Following the High Court’s order, the investigators exhumed the body of the journalist couple from the Azimpur graveyard, 75 days after the incident, on April 26, 2012, for viscera test to find out whether they were poisoned before the killing. However, the investigators could not conduct the test as the bodies were massively decomposed.
The RAB arrested Humayun Kabir alias Enamul, prime suspect of the murders, from Brahambaria rail station on February 9 last year. A total of eight people — Rafiqul Islam, Bakul Miah, Masum Mintu, Sayeed, Kamrul Hasan alias Arun, security guard Palash Rudra Paul, Enamul and Tanvirul Islam — have been put in jail. Of them, the first five are also involved in the physician Nitai Chandra killing case.
The RAB also sent some evidence collected from the crime scene to laboratories abroad for DNA tests. The laboratories in USA found DNA profiles of seven persons from the samples. Later, the elite force sent biometric samples of 13 people, including six suspects in Dr Nitai’s murder, but none of the samples matched the DNA profiles.
Leaders of the journalist community urged newsmen to form a joint investigation cell to launch a probe into the killing, while the family members of Sagar and Runi asked all to remain alert so that law enforcement agencies could not stage any “drama” in the name of carrying out an investigation.
RAB director Mokhlesur Rahman told The Independent, “We’re trying to identify the killers as we have collected the full DNA test results of two suspects. We’ve have sent the DNA samples of other suspects to the USA for tests.”
The investigating officer, Mohammad Zafar Ullah, told The Independent, “We’ve interrogated more than 200 people in connection with the killing and completed the DNA test of 16 people. We’ve also arrested eight suspects so far.”
Courtesy of The Independent
