The state has informed the High Court that key documents related to the murder case of journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi were destroyed in a fire at the Detective Branch (DB) office.
On Tuesday (April 22), Additional Attorney General Arshadur Rauf presented the information before a High Court bench comprising Justice Fatema Najib and Justice Shikdar Mahmudur Raji.
He stated that a fire broke out at the DB office on August 5, 2023, which led to the loss of several important files related to the Sagar-Runi murder investigation.
Rauf added that the investigation is still ongoing and more time is needed to complete it. Although the state had requested a nine-month extension, the court allowed time until October 22 to submit the report.
Previously, on April 15, the court had deferred the submission deadline to May 21. With this, the report's submission date has been postponed 117 times.
On February 11, 2012, journalists Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi were brutally murdered in their rented apartment in the capital's West Rajabazar area. At that time, Sagar worked for Maasranga TV and Runi for ATN Bangla.
Following the incident, Runi's brother Nausher Alam filed a murder case with Sher-E-Bangla Nagar Police Station.
So far, eight individuals have been accused in this widely discussed case, including Runi's friend Tanvir Rahman. The other accused are the building's security guard Enam Ahmed alias Humayun Kabir, Rafiqul Islam, Bokul Mia, Mintu alias Bargira Mintu alias Masum Mintu, Kamrul Hasan Arun, Palash Rudra Pal, and Abu Said.
