‘Sagar-Runi murder evidence destroyed’

Home Minister MK Alamgir on Monday blamed the newspersons and the common people for destroying important evidence before the police reached the spot where journalist couple Sagar Sarwar and Meherun Runi were murdered.

“Sagar and Runi were media personalities. Journalists and common people destroyed all the important evidences from the spot before police could reach there,” he told Parliament.

Replying to a query from Cox’s Bazar-3 MP Lutfur Rahman Kajal, the minister also said the Sagar-Runi murder case was a sensitive one.

“The murders were carried out in the night and there was no witness to the killing,” he said.

Maasranga Television News Editor Sagar and ATN Bangla Senior Correspondent Runi were killed at their West Rajabazar residence in the capital on Feb 11 last year.

The murder outraged the nation, as police, detectives and political bigwigs turned up at the couple's West Razabazar residence, promising speedy justice.

One year has passed since the murder took place, but the law enforcers are yet to arrest the real killers, forcing journalists to take to the streets.

Frustrated by the lack of progress in investigation, they have also announced to abstain from work on March 11.

The Home Ministry claimed credit for cracking the case, and producing a list of eight ‘killers’ said that ‘they have been identified’. Neither journalists nor family members of the victims found the government’s version credible.

The police detectives gave up when they failed to crack the case and it was later transferred to the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) following an order of the High Court.

The Minister on Monday said RAB had been working hard to ensure punishment to the killers.

He also added some of the evidences found at the spot had been sent for chemical and DNA tests complying with a court order.