Prosecutor calls Sagar-Runi murder ‘state-sponsored’

International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) Prosecutor and special investigation officer Tanvir Hasan Zoha said the murder of journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi was a “state-sponsored murder.”

He made the remarks to Agamir Somoy as the deadline for submitting the investigation report of the Sagar-Runi murder case has been deferred for the 129th time. The court has set 30 September as the new date for submitting the report.

The scheduled day was on Thursday to submit the report, but the investigation officer of the case, PBI Additional Superintendent of Police Md Azizul Haq, failed to submit it.

Following this, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Ariful Islam fixed the new date and Prosecution Division Sub-Inspector (SI) Mazharul Islam confirmed the matter.

Tanvir added that RAB’s intelligence wing was aware of the murder beforehand, and investigators have identified an officer who was working in the intelligence wing at that time.

He mentioned that the information was obtained while investigating allegations against dismissed military officer Ziaul Ahsan. The investigation is ongoing, and once it is completed, these facts and evidence will be presented to the tribunal.  

Tanvir said while reviewing the activities of Ziaul, some evidence was found, which suggests that the involved individuals were aware of the Sagar-Runi murder beforehand. When asked whether Ziaul and other individuals knew about the murder beforehand, Tanvir replied, “Yes”

Describing the situation before the incident, he added that the identified officer was told, “something is going to happen, we have to be ready tomorrow morning.” However, the officer was not told that the situation was related to Sagar-Runi, and he only found out the next morning that the Sagar-Runi murder had indeed occurred.

Tanvir also revealed that investigators found two unidentified DNAs during the investigation. He remarked that these DNAs are important evidence, but it has not yet been possible to identify who they belong to, nor has it been confirmed whether the DNAs belong to a Bangladeshi or a foreign national.

Highlighting the complexity of the investigation, he said, “When state-sponsored murders happen, there is no clue left behind. Bangladesh Police is not so incompetent that they cannot find a clue to a murder.”

When asked if he definitely considers the Sagar-Runi murder to be a state-sponsored murder, he replied, “Definitely”

Tanvir added that Sagar-Runi might have possessed some sensitive information that could have been the reason for their murder and they might have been killed in a planned manner. The identified officer initially told him that the murder might have centered around Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) or some other issue, but the officer is unwilling to testify about this and said he will never give testimony in this case.

He pointed that Ziaul served as the head of RAB’s intelligence during the Sagar-Runi murder. He also raised questions regarding the activities of the investigation team that went to the crime scene after the murder, saying they might have gone there not just to investigate, but also with the intention of destroying evidence. Investigators have already identified one member of that team.

The murders occurred on 11 February 2012, when Maasranga Television News Editor Sagar Sarowar and ATN Bangla Senior Reporter Meherun Runi were killed in their home.

Following the incident, the victim’s brother, Nowsher Alam Roman, filed a murder case at the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station.

The investigation has seen several handovers over the last 12 years:

• Initial Phase: A Sub-Inspector (SI) of the local police station handled the case first.
• Detective Branch (DB): After four days, the case was moved to the DB, which failed to solve the mystery after more than two months of investigation.
• RAB: On 18 April 2012, the High Court ordered the investigation to be transferred to the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).

On 30 September 2024, the High Court directed the formation of a high-powered task force comprised of experienced investigators from various forces. The court ordered the task force to complete the investigation and submit a report within six months.

Then Public Security Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a notification on 17 October 2024 officially forming the task force. The four-member high-level committee is headed by the PBI Chief as the convener.