With November 5 set as the 132nd deadline, Sagar’s 74-year-old mother hopes to see justice before her death

“Governments keep changing one after another, but there has been no progress. Whom should I turn to for justice?”

At 74, Saleha Monir broke down in tears as she spoke about her son, journalist Sagar Sarowar, and daughter-in-law, Meherun Runi, who were murdered nearly 15 years ago.

Her greatest wish is now to see those responsible brought to justice while she is still alive.

Despite 132 deadlines being set for submitting the investigation report, investigators have yet to complete the probe. The prolonged delay has left the families increasingly frustrated and devastated, with little hope of a breakthrough after years of waiting.

“What mother would not want justice? It was such a clear-cut incident. So many years have passed, yet no one has been able to uncover anything,” Saleha, Sagar’s mother, told Media yesterday.

“I hope to see justice served while I am still alive,” she said, her voice breaking during the phone conversation.

Saleha said she had seen on television that the task force had been granted another six months to complete the investigation, but no one from the team had contacted her.

“The PBI contacted me a long time ago,” she added.

Nowsher Alam Roman, Runi’s brother, who filed the case with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station the day after the killings, criticised the task force for repeatedly seeking more time.

“The task force’s repeated requests for six-month extensions amount to nothing more than a delay tactic. This only proves that the task force has been unable to make progress,” he said.

However, he considered the High Court’s decision to summon International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) Prosecutor Tanvir Hassan Zoha and the head of the task force a positive development.

“Close coordination between the ICT prosecutor and the investigating agency is crucial. There should be accountability regarding how far the investigating agency has progressed based on the information he has obtained,” he told Media.

Sagar Sarowar was the news editor of Maasranga TV, while his wife, Meherun Runi, was a senior reporter at ATN Bangla. They were killed in the early hours of February 11, 2012, at their rented flat in West Rajabazar in the capital.

Their only child, Mahir Sarowar Megh, who was five years old at the time, was in the apartment when the killings took place.

Eight suspects — Kamrul Islam alias Arun, Abu Sayeed, Rafiqul Islam, Bakul Miah, Masum Mintu, Palash Rudra Paul, Anamul Haque alias Humayun Kabir and Tanveer Rahman Khan — were arrested in connection with the murders.

Tanveer and Mintu are now on bail, while Palash is absconding. The remaining suspects are in jail.

On September 30 this year, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Ariful Islam set November 5 as the deadline for submitting the investigation report, a police officer said.

THE CASE

Following the filing of the case on February 12, 2012, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station was initially assigned to investigate it. The investigation was transferred to the Detective Branch (DB) of police on February 16. The DB continued the probe until April 18 that year.

The case was subsequently handed over to the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), now Special Response Battalion, in April 2012. The force investigated the murders until November 3, 2024.

On October 23, 2024, a four-member task force was formed to investigate the case following a High Court order, with the head of the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) serving as its convener. The PBI took over the investigation on November 4, 2024.

Meanwhile, the task force submitted a 27-page progress report to the registrar general of the Supreme Court on October 19.

The report, signed by investigation officer Azizul Haque, an additional superintendent of police at the PBI, said previous investigators had recorded statements from 167 witnesses.

During the task force’s tenure, 90 witnesses were questioned, and statements from 24 of them were recorded, the report said.

It also stated that a letter had been sent to ICT Chief Prosecutor Aminul Islam and Prosecutor Tanvir Hassan Zoha, seeking the handover of digital evidence and data preserved by the tribunal relating to former army officer Ziaul Ahsan and a cultural personality for further investigation.

“However, no information has been received so far,” the report said.

Investigator Azizul Haque declined to disclose further details when contacted yesterday.