Sleuths are still groping in the dark over the murder of journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Nahar Runi 48 months on. Print Friendly and PDF 0 0 1 The then home minister Shahara Khatun, within hours of the incident in 2012, had promised to catch the culprits within 48 hours. Nine months after Khatun’s assurance, erstwhile home minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir claimed major breakthrough at a press conference after the arrest of a few persons. The investigating agency, RAB, has been submitting the progress report on the investigation every month following a court directive. But nothing substantive has come out so far. Initially, different organisations of journalists hit the streets demanding justice, but slowly those demonstrations fizzled out due to rift among them. The plaintiff of the case, Runi's brother Nowsher Alam Roman, sees no hope of the murder mystery resolved. But RAB says it is making every effort to crack the case. 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. After the sensational murder Runi’s brother filed the case with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police. The case was then handed over to the Detective Branch. After DB admitted its failure before a court to resolve the case, 62 days after the incident, the RAB had been asked to take over the investigation. On the eve of the fourth anniversary of the murders, bdnews24.com asked RAB spokesman Mufti Mahmud Khan about the probe progress. “It’s not that all murder mysteries are solved fast. Sensitive cases take time,” he said. “Sagar-Runi murder is a sensitive case. That’s why we are taking more time to solve it,” he added. The elite police unit last updated the court about the investigation on Jan 18. RAB ASP Mohiuddin Ahmed is on the case now. Plaintiff Roman is frustrated with the investigation. He told bdnews24.com “years upon years will go like this”. RAB spokesperson Khan said, “We are applying all methods.” He said a forensic lab in the US have tested DNA samples collected from the crime scene. 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. Just before a deadline set by journalists expired in October 2012, former home minister Alamgir claimed the arrest of eight people in connection with the murder. They were Tanvir Rahman, whom police identified as family friend of Sagar and Runi, one of the two guards to the residence Polash Rudra Paul, and Rofiqul Islam, Bokul Miah, Masum Mintu, Kamrul Hasan Arun and Md Sayeed – all identified by the RAB as members of a gang of professional criminals. RAB official Khan said Rahman, Paul and Mintu had secured bail from High Court. Sagar and Runi’s only son Mihir Sarowar Megh is a student of grade three at a school in Gulshan now.