A Dhaka court has postponed the submission of the investigation report in the journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi murder case until December 9, marking the 131st delay in the case.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Ariful Islam set the new date after a hearing on Thursday, as the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), the current investigating agency, failed to submit its report.
The information was confirmed by Rafiqul Islam, a sub-inspector of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s prosecution division.
Sagar, news editor of private television channel Maasranga TV, and Runi, a senior reporter at ATN Bangla, were murdered at their rented home in West Rajabazar, Dhaka, on February 11, 2012. Their four-and-a-half-year-old son, Mahir Sarowar Megh, was at home at the time.
Runi’s brother, Nowsher Alam Roman, filed a murder case with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station.
The accused are Rafiqul Islam, Bakul Mia, Masum Mintu, Kamrul Islam alias Arun, Abu Sayeed, the couple’s two residential security guards Palash Rudra Pal and Enayet Ahmed, and their friend Tanvir Rahman Khan. Tanvir and Palash are out on bail, while the others are in jail.
The case was initially investigated by Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police before being transferred to the Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police and later to the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).
On September 30 last year, the High Court directed the formation of a high-powered task force comprising experienced investigators from different law enforcement agencies to investigate the murders. A High Court bench comprising Justices Farah Mahbub and Muhammad Mahbub Ul Islam ordered that the task force be formed through the Ministry of Home Affairs.
On October 23, 2025, the government formed a four-member task force in line with the court directive, with the PBI chief as its convener.
