The deadline for submission of the probe report in a case filed over the murder of journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi in 2012 has been extended for the 120th time.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court on Monday extended the deadline for the Police Bureau of Investigation to submit its probe report in the murder case.
Metropolitan magistrate Md Minhazur Rahman set September 14 as the new deadline after investigation officer Md Azizul Haque, an additional superintendent of police at the PBI, failed to file the report on Monday, the previous deadline.
Sagar, then news editor at Maasranga Television, and Runi, then senior reporter at ATN Bangla, were brutally murdered at their rented West Razabazar flat in the capital Dhaka on February 11, 2012. Their five-year-old son, Mahir Sarowar Megh, was at the flat that time.
The double murder triggered nationwide outrage, particularly among journalists, who have since been demanding justice. However, more than 13 years passed, little progress has been made despite repeated assurances from authorities.
Runi鈥檚 brother, Nousher Ali Roman, filed the case with the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police station the day after the killings.
Eight suspects were later arrested. The arrested were Kamrul Islam alias Arun, Abu Sayeed, Rafiqul Islam, Bakul Miah, Masum Mintu, Palash, Anamul Haque alias Humayun Kabir, and Tanvir Rahman Khan. Tanvir and Palash have since been released on bail, while the others remain in custody.
The case was initially handled by Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police before being transferred to the Detective Branch on February 16, 2012, and to the Rapid Action Battalion in April that year.
RAB conducted the investigation until November 3, 2023. Following a High Court order, the case was handed over to the Police Bureau of Investigation on November 4, 2024. 聽