Delay in Sagar-Runi murder case unacceptable

It is disquieting to see that three years after the ghastly murder of journalist couple Sagar and Runi, the government has not yet been able to even "identify" the alleged killers, let alone arrest them and put them on trial. Sagor Sarowar, news editor of Maasranga TV, and his wife Meherun Runi, senior reporter of ATN Bangla, were murdered in their apartment in the capital on February 11, 2012. 

The murder triggered widespread outrage in the journalist community. Since then journalists, along with the victims' family members and general people, have been pressing for justice. To this day, it remains as an important public justice issue. But the government has not been able to make any headway except shifting cases from one investigative body to another and, from time to time, giving hollow promises. Family members and journalists expressed their deep frustration over this 'mysterious' attitude of the authority for not brining the masterminds to book. Soon after the murder, the then home minister Shahara Khatun assured that killer would be arrested within 48 hours. Now, people want to know when will the 48 hours end?   

In any civilized society, murder of journalist is taken as a serious violation of the highly cherished value of freedom of press and freedom of expression. In our case, long delay in bringing murderers to justice has made the burden heavier. We can only reiterate our demand for providing justice to the victims and letting justice prevail over the culture of impunity.