Sagar-Runi Murder: If probe needs 50yrs, it will have to be given 50yrs

Law Minister Anisul Huq yesterday said that if the investigation needs 50 years to find the killers of journalists Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi, it will have to be given 50 years.

“If police cannot complete the investigation in this case, will it be right to forcibly complete it and submit a final report or charge sheet? They [police] should be given as much time as their investigation may require to find the murderers. If the probe takes 50 years, it will have to be given 50 years.”

The minister said this in response to a question from reporters about the Sagar-Runi murder case trial at a press conference on contemporary issues at his office at the Secretariat.

His comments came at a time when the investigators have already taken 107 time extensions to submit the probe report in the case that shook the nation to its core.

Sagar, who was the news editor at Maasranga Television, and his wife Runi, senior reporter at ATN Bangla, were killed in the early hours of February 11, 2012, in their rented flat in the capital’s West Razabazar.

After the murder, senior government officials, including the then home minister, said the murderers would be arrested and brought to justice within 48 hours.

Nearly 12 years have passed, but no substantial progress has been made in solving the case.

Yesterday, when the reporters asked Anisul whether the wait for justice will take 50 years, he said, “This is not the rule, this case is an exception.

“A trial is fast when the accused is caught promptly. But in cases where the criminals can’t be caught, the investigation remains incomplete and so we have to give them time.”