The High Court has given a high-level task force six months to submit its investigation report into the 2012 murders of journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi, summoning its chief and an information technology expert to appear with relevant documents on 27 April 2027.
The court also summoned Tanvir Joha, prosecutor at the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), to explain the review of 300 CDs containing call records recovered from the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC) after 5 August 2024.
The HC bench of Justice Shikder Md Mahmudur Razi and Justice Fatema Anwar passed the orders today (27 October).
Of the 300 CDs, 90 have been examined, while 210 remain under review. The state sought more time to complete the process, prompting the court to grant the task force six months to submit its report. The matter will be placed before the court on 29 April 2027 for further orders, said senior lawyer Shishir Monir, who represents the petitioner.
A report presented to the court also refers to the alleged involvement of former army officer Major General (retd) Ziaul Ahsan and media personality Rokeya Prachi.
Shishir said the state reported progress based on information from ICT investigation agency officials and a prosecutor, including reviewing the CDs and mentioning two individuals. The task force chief, the prosecutor and investigation agency members overseeing the records will appear in court and report on the review, he added.
The proceedings stem from a public-interest writ petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) in 2012, seeking a proper investigation into the murders and the identification and prosecution of those responsible.
On 28 February 2012, the High Court issued a rule asking why authorities should not be directed to identify the killers and bring them to justice. Shishir was appointed to represent the petitioner on 29 September 2024.
On 30 September 2024, the High Court ordered RAB's removal from the investigation and directed the Ministry of Home Affairs to form a high-level task force, setting 6 April 2025 as the deadline for its report.
The ministry formed the task force, but no progress was reported by the deadline because the court was on vacation. At the state's request, the court subsequently granted three six-month extensions on 22 April, 23 October and 26 April this year.
Sagar, news editor of Maasranga Television, and Runi, a senior reporter at ATN Bangla, were murdered at their rented apartment in Dhaka's West Rajabazar on the night of 11 February 2012. Their bodies were recovered early the next morning.
Runi's brother, Nausher Ali Roman, filed a murder case with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station on 12 February. A station officer initially investigated it before the case was transferred to Md Robiul Alam, an inspector of the Detective Branch's North division, on 16 February.
Two months later, a High Court order transferred the investigation to RAB, which has yet to submit a report.
Lawyer Manzil Morshed, who represented HRPB in the original writ proceedings, said the petition sought a proper investigation and the prosecution of those responsible. A separate application subsequently led to the transfer of the investigation to RAB.