A new clue has emerged in the 2012 murder of journalist couple Sagar Sarwar and Meherun Runi, with three more people allegedly involved in the killing identified, according to prosecutor and International Crimes Tribunal special investigation officer Tanvir Hasan Joha.
Joha disclosed the information in a recent media interview, saying an officer who was serving in RAB’s intelligence wing at the time has also been identified.
According to Joha, the officer told him that on the night before the murders, he had been told: “Something is about to happen. We need to be ready tomorrow morning.”
The officer was not told what was going to happen, Joha said. The following morning, he learned about the Sagar-Runi murders.
Joha said the information emerged during an investigation into allegations against dismissed army officer Ziaul Ahsan.
“While reviewing Ziaul Ahsan’s activities, we found some suspicious evidence,” he said, adding that the investigation is still ongoing.
Based on the evidence, investigators believe some individuals knew about the murders in advance, Joha said.
Asked whether Ziaul Ahsan and others linked to him knew about the killing beforehand, Joha replied, “Yes.”
He said the identified intelligence officer had initially suggested that the murders could have been linked to the BDR mutiny or another matter, but the officer is unwilling to testify in the case.
“He has said he will never give testimony in this case,” Joha said.
Investigators have also recovered two unidentified DNA samples, which Joha described as “highly important” evidence. However, it has not yet been determined whose DNA the samples belong to or whether they are from Bangladeshi or foreign individuals, he said.
Joha also raised questions about the team that went to the crime scene after the murders.
Ziaul Ahsan was heading RAB’s intelligence wing at the time, and investigators are examining whether members of the team went to the scene solely to investigate or also with the intention of destroying evidence, he said.
One member of the team has also been identified, according to Joha.
He described the murders as a “state-sponsored” killing and said such cases are difficult to resolve.
“Bangladesh Police is not so incompetent that they cannot solve a single murder,” Joha said.
Joha believes Sagar and Runi may have possessed sensitive information that could have motivated their killing and suggested that the murders were premeditated.
Sagar Sarwar and Meherun Runi were murdered at their rented residence in West Rajabazar in Dhaka on February 11, 2012.
Sagar was the news editor of Maasranga Television, while Runi was a senior reporter at ATN Bangla.
Runi’s brother, Nowsher Alam, filed a murder case at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police station. Police initially investigated the case before it was transferred to the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police and later to RAB.
After more than a decade, the investigation was handed over to the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), which received the case documents from RAB last November.
Meanwhile, the deadline for submitting the investigation report has been postponed for the 129th time, with the court setting September 30 as the new deadline.
The report was scheduled to be submitted last Thursday, but investigating officer PBI Additional Superintendent of Police Md Azizul Haque could not submit it.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Ariful Islam then set the new date, according to SI Mazharul Islam of the prosecution department.
