Investigating agencies in Bangladesh failed for a record 129th time yesterday to submit the probe report for the sensational double murder case involving the gruesome 2012 killing of journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi inside the safety of their Dhaka home.
The incident immediately hogged the media spotlight and has never faded from public memory, particularly because the home minister at the time promised on camera to catch the killers within 48 hours.
By now, more than 127,000 hours have passed. Yet, agency after agency tasked by the government with investigating the murder has failed to produce a probe report.
The Sagar-Runi murder case now holds the record for the highest number of court hearing deferrals due to the non-submission of an investigation report, having been officially postponed 129 times.
While the Guinness World Records does not officially track this category, legal experts, human rights organizations, and media outlets widely cite it as an unprecedented anomaly in global judicial history.
This agonizing wait for justice has seen the couple’s minor son grow into an adult, traumatized by the fact that the killers remain unknown after 14 years.
Sagar Sarowar, a news editor for Maasranga Television, and his wife Meherun Runi, a senior reporter at ATN Bangla, were brutally murdered in their rented flat in West Rajabazar, Dhaka, on February 11, 2012, in the presence of their four-year-old son.
Over the past 14 years, the investigation has repeatedly changed hands, moving from the Detective Branch (DB) to the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), and finally to the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI). None of these shifts have yielded fruit.
Initially, the DB of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police was entrusted with the case before it was transferred to RAB. The elite crime-busting agency failed to submit its investigation report to the court, requesting extensions 111 times over 12 years.
On September 30, 2024, the High Court stripped RAB of its investigative authority. Three weeks later, the Ministry of Home Affairs formed a new high-powered task force, led by the PBI, to handle the investigation.
The High Court directed the authorities to complete the investigation and submit the report within six months, noting that the delay was a matter of regret not only for the victims' family but for every citizen. The court famously observed that "six months means six months."
The higher judiciary has previously noted that the delay in completing the investigation and commencing the trial is a continuous mockery of the justice system that damages the judiciary's reputation.
Public perception suggests that the sense of urgency and justice expressed by the higher judiciary is not reflected in the actions of the investigating agencies and government functionaries.
Requesting fresh extensions has become a ritualistic routine for these agencies, granting them a two-to-three-month respite before the cycle repeats.
No matter which agency takes the lead, the result remains the same: Endless delays and virtually zero new leads to pursue the perpetrators or formally begin the trial.
To break this decade-long deadlock, the High Court issued a series of binding directives. When the newly formed task force faced structural hurdles following the major political shifts in Bangladesh after August 5, 2024, the High Court granted a final six-month extension, ordering an unyielding submission.
In discussions about press gags and media intimidation in Bangladesh, the impunity surrounding this case remains a stark example of a hazardous working environment for journalists.
With an elected government now in power in post-February 2026 Bangladesh, fast-tracking this double-murder case is essential to restore faith in the country’s investigating agencies and pave the way for an intimidation-free media ecosystem.
Reaz Ahmad is Editor, Dhaka Tribune.