ATN chairman apologises

ATN Bangla Chairman Mahfuzur Rahman has apologised for his recent comments on Sagar-Runi murder that caused a stir in the media.
“I am offering my apology to the people including journalists who have been hurt by my comments,” Mahfuzur said in a media statement yesterday.
He claimed that the partial revelation of his comments has made him and the channel controversial.
“I simply made the remarks in an honest and open mind in the face of aggressive questioning,” the ATN chief said.
On May 30, Mahfuzur at a press briefing in London said, “Sagar and Runi were victims of an extra-marital affair.” He also claimed that he had video footage relating to their killings.
“During the press conference, I made my position clear as an ordinary citizen in response to questions of a manager of a local newspaper, though the queries were irrelevant,” he said in the statement.
Mahfuzur said he made the comments on the basis of reports published in several national dailies after the murder of Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi.
“Millions of people like me have gone through those articles,” he added.
“I am repeatedly and unhesitatingly saying that only the law enforcement agencies could reveal the motive behind the killings,” Mahfuzur said in the statement.
Terming the journalists of his media house 'devoted stars', the ATN chief said he had also been deeply shocked by the untimely demise of his staff Runi.
“I cannot even think about humiliating the image of Runi, who was like my daughter,” he continued.
Journalists on Tuesday demanded legal action against Mahfuzur Rahman for his comments on the murder of the journalist couple.
On February 11, Sagar Sarowar, a news editor at the private TV channel Maasranga, and his wife Meherun Runi, a senior reporter for ATN Bangla, were brutally killed in the bedroom of their rented flat in West Rajabazar of the capital.