A promise unfulfilled for a decade

In a changing and developing Bangladesh of the last decade, one consistent aspect has been the absence of justice for the murder of journalist couple, Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi. They were slain in their home in the capital in the early hours of February 11, 2012. The home minister of the time had vowed to catch the killers within 48 hours. Not only has this promise remained unfulfilled over the last 10 years, the investigation officer (IO) for the case was changed six times, and the Rab and other investigative agencies have so far taken 85 dates from the court to complete the probe. On January 24 this year, the Rab IO, Khandaker Md Shafiqul Alam, once again failed to submit the probe report and filed for a time extension for the eighth time in just a year. The current date for submission of the report is now February 23.

Under these circumstances, we cannot help but wonder if authorities even intend to deliver justice for the couple's murder. Will there only be tens more court dates for many more years until the case becomes something forgotten for the public and the media? Meanwhile, for the couple's family and close ones, the underlying mystery of their murder is a reality they have to live with hourly. Runi and Sagar's son, Megh (then five-years-old), was in the house while his parents were brutally slain. Runi's mother passed away last month, unable to see justice served for her child in her lifetime. The rest of the world may only make mentions of the case around the time of the murders' anniversary, but it is the victims' family members to whom the investigators owe answers and to whom the state owes justice.

One cannot help but be wary about why they have still not made any headway with the murder case of Sagar-Runi. If indeed no influential persons are involved, then the authorities should make an effort to actually prove that. The eight suspects, two of whom are currently out on bail, must also be investigated extensively. We would urge the Rab and the government at large to deliver long-awaited justice to Sagar and Runi's families, instead of making the investigation into a process of asking redundant questions to the victims' relatives once a year. We would like nothing more than to see the real killers being identified and brought to justice, as was promised a decade ago.