The prosecution has informed the High Court (HC) that the documents related to the murder case of journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi, which were stored at the Detective Branch (DB) of police, were destroyed in a fire on August 5 last year amid the student-led mass uprising.
The High Court ordered to complete the investigation within six months on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has denied the matter and said the documents were not harmed.
On its official Facebook page, the DMP wrote: "The information circulated in various electronic and print media claiming that the documents of the Sagar-Runi murder case were burned while in DB custody is not correct."
Earlier on April 15, a Dhaka court set May 21 as the new deadline for filing a probe report in the murder case of journalist couple, marking the 117th extension of the deadline.
The journalist couple was murdered at their rented flat in the city's West Rajabazar on February 11, 2012, in the presence of their then four-year-old son, Mahir Sarwar Megh.
Runi's brother, Nawser Alam, filed a murder case with the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police station.
Initially, the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) was assigned to investigate the case, but it was later transferred to the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).
The elite group failed to submit the investigation report in court after taking 111 times over 12 years.
On September 30, 2024, the High Court ordered the formation of a high-powered task force through the Ministry of Home Affairs to investigate the case, removing RAB from the charge.
The government formed a four-member task force on October 23, 2024, to investigate the double murder.
The task force was constituted through a notification from the Ministry of Home Affairs, which instructed the task force to submit its probe findings within six months.
The Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) was named as the convener of the task force, although the names of the other members were not disclosed in the notification.
The task force also includes one representative not below the rank of additional deputy inspector general (DIG) from Police Headquarters, one representative of the same rank from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), and one representative holding the rank of director from RAB.
On October 16, 2024, the High Court released the full text of its September 30 order, which directed the transfer of investigative authority in the Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Nahar Runi murder case from RAB to a high-powered task force to be formed by the home ministry.
