Ref: “Investigations into the case have gained much pace” is all police had to say on Tuesday even though 10 days have passed since the killing of journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi.
“The pace of investigation has increased and skilled officers have been appointed to find out the real killers,” Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Detective Branch deputy commissioner (south) Monirul Islam told reporters at a press briefing at DMP’s Media and Community Service Centre.
Asked about the probe’s progress, he said, “We have officially interrogated some 20 to 25 people so far. We have also quizzed several others.”
On Feb 11, Maasranga Television news editor Golam Mostofa Sarowar, alias Sagar Sarowar, and his wife, ATN Bangla senior reporter Meherun Nahar Runi, were found murdered at their flat in the city’s west Rajabazar area.
Although after 48 hours of the incident, inspector general of police (IGP) Hassan Mahmood Khandker had claimed “remarkable progress” in solving the Sagar-Runi murder riddle, police are yet to solve the mystery behind the couple’s murder and identify or arrest anyone.
Asked about the delay, defending himself, Monirul Islam said on Tuesday, “Numerous brutal murders have taken place in the last three years in Dhaka city. Some of those cases took two months and some less than 48 hours to unravel the mystery.”
Facing frustration and ire of the journalists over the delay spotting the killers, he said, “Our commissioner has said, ‘have faith in us (police)’. I am also asking you again to have faith in us. Sagar and Runi were not only your brother and sister, they were our brother and sister, too.”
DMP commissioner Benazir Ahmed had on Monday urged journalists’ organisations to keep faith in police with regard to the renowned journalist couple’s murder.
However, on Tuesday, after paying respects to the language martyrs at the Central Shaheed Minar, he told journalists, “These (murder investigations) cannot be finished by deadlines.”
Home minister Shahara Khatun had spelt out a 48-hour deadline while visiting the crime scene on the day the duo was murdered. However, investigation teams have so far failed to find out even the motive, leave aside identifying the killers.
The DMP commissioner faced numerous questions from the journalists at the Central Shaheed Minar DMP control room.
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