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Friday, February 12, 2016, Magh 30, 1422 BS, Jamadiul Awwal 1, 1437 Hijri


Sagar-Runi Murder Still A Mystery
Investigators keep running wild but to no end
Mamunur Rashid
Published :Friday, 12 February, 2016,  Time : 12:00 AM  View Count : 9

The leaders of Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU), still aggrieved by the loss of theit colleagues Sagar Sarwar and Mehrun Runi, the journalist couple killed in hands of unidentified miscreants four years ago, laid out a bigger canvas yesterday, saying they will not only continue protests over the grisly murders till the culprits are punished but also after that.
 The DRU leaders have now given a one month deadline to the investigator (RAB) to complete the probe and submit final report - something they could not do in 48 months when court granted them as many as 65 dates to submit the coveted findings.
It's hard to believe one more month "donated' by DRU will be enough and will fly in a flicker of moment. But, we rely on the "Pandora's box," as we don't have a magic wand, one DRU leader said.
General Secretary of Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) Razu Ahmed said during a protest rally at DRU premises (on Thursday), Sagor-Runi's death anniversary, they demand for finding and giving exemplary punishment to their killers has been growing stronger and won't subside until actually the killed are given highest penalty.
"If the Home Ministry failed to do nothing within one month the journalist community will go all out to make that (justice) happen," he said. Sagar had suffered 28 stab wounds while Runi five before they breathed their last, according to the investigators.
After visiting the slain journalist couple's residence following the killing on February 11, 2012, then Home Minister advocate Shahara Khatun had said that the killers would be hunted down within 48 hours, erstwhile home minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir claimed major breakthrough at a press conference after the arrest of a few persons.
RAB officials are trying to say Runi killed sagor and the she committed suicide. But this theory did not sell with anyone, including crime experts.
On Feb 12, 2012, Maasranga Television News Editor Sagar Sarowar and ATN Bangla Senior Reporter Meherun Runi were stabbed to death in the bedroom of their apartment in Dhaka's Razabazar.
RAB spokesman Mufti Mahmud Khan told reporters that "Not all murder mysteries can be solved fast. Sensitive cases take time." "Sagar-Runi murder is a sensitive case. That's why we are taking more time to solve it," he added.
The RAB is checking test reports now, he said. The evidence in the case includes a knife and some clothes. Initially, RAB said the DNA samples gathered from these materials matched the profiles of two persons.
But nothing on the matter was said later. The home ministry claimed credit for cracking the case, producing a list of eight killers it says have been identified. Neither journalists nor family members of the victim found the version credible.
In 2014, a DNA test at a US laboratory which was based on the evidences collected from the place of occurrence as supplied by the designated investigation agency confirmed the presence of two suspects at the apartment of Sagar-Runi during the gruesome murder, but the elite force is yet to be able to detect the two suspects.
Rab launched the investigation into the murder following a High Court order on April 14 in 2003. Earlier, the Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police investigated the case. Five suspects are in custody in connection to the killing.












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