Rokeya Prachy's name surfaces in Sagar-Runi murder probe from tribunal prosecution's preliminary inquiry, High Court gives taskforce until April 29
The name of cultural figure Rokeya Prachy has surfaced in the investigation into the murder of journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Nahar Runi, from a preliminary inquiry by the prosecution of the International Crimes Tribunal. Tribunal prosecutors have said they found information about a possible link between Rokeya Prachy and former army officer Ziaul Ahsan. That information, however, is still at the verification stage.
The details emerged from the progress report of the taskforce formed to investigate the case. Attorney General Barrister Md Ruhul Quddus Kajol presented part of the report before the High Court on Tuesday (October 27). On the state's plea for time for investigation and verification, a High Court bench of Justice Sikder Mahmudur Razi and Justice Fatema Anwar gave time until April 29.
On October 19, the taskforce's member secretary and the case's investigating officer, Additional Superintendent of Police Md Azizul Haque of the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), filed the progress report at the office of the Registrar General of the Supreme Court.
According to the report, on August 30 tribunal prosecutor Tanvir Hasan Zoha said the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) had raided the Barisal home of Major General (retd) Ziaul Ahsan, former director general of the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC), and seized a number of digital evidence items. Those items included various geolocation-related data, SMS records and printed copies of call detail records (CDR).
The report says prosecutor Zoha had spoken of finding, in the preliminary inquiry, information about the involvement of Ziaul Ahsan and a media-related person. Chief Prosecutor Aminul Islam of the International Crimes Tribunal made similar remarks and said the information and data they obtain would be handed over to the PBI investigating officer once their inquiry ends.
In discussions with the taskforce, Chief Prosecutor Aminul Islam and prosecutor Tanvir Hasan Zoha said they had preliminarily found information about a possible involvement of Ziaul Ahsan and Rokeya Prachy in the Sagar-Runi murder, and that the matter was being verified. On October 13 the taskforce wrote to the prosecution requesting handover of the digital evidence and data in its possession for the sake of the investigation. By the time the report was filed, however, the PBI had received no information. The report does not state any final conclusion that Rokeya Prachy or Ziaul Ahsan was involved in any crime.
Beyond the emergence of Rokeya Prachy's name, the taskforce said that even after the long investigation, the motive for the murder and who was involved could not be specified. DNA samples found at the scene yielded profiles of two unknown men, but their identities remain unknown. The profiles of those two unknown men were found in samples collected from the sheet used to tie Sagar and from Runi's T-shirt.
The report further says DNA of four people in total was found at the scene—three men and one woman. One man was identified as the victim Golam Sarowar Sagar and the woman as Meherun Nahar Runi. In an attempt at identification, samples were sent to two laboratories in the United States, but because samples from multiple people were mixed in the DNA, no image could be produced. Knives, a cleaver, knife handles, clothing and other evidence, along with samples collected from the inner mouth cells of 25 people, were sent to two labs in the United States and one in the Netherlands; the labs reported no match between the DNA from the evidence and the DNA of the people whose samples were sent.
According to the progress report, previous investigating officers recorded statements from 167 witnesses in total. The current investigating officer has questioned 90 people and recorded statements from 24. In addition, 47 items of evidence suspected to be connected to the case had been seized. Previous investigators had probed 15 suspects arrested in 130 theft and robbery cases filed at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Tejgaon, Mohammadpur, Dhanmondi and Kalabagan police stations; during the current investigation, the names, addresses and PCPR records of 42 suspects have been verified.
In its forensic observations, the report says Sagar and Runi had many wounds on their bodies, which caused heavy bleeding, and it appeared they remained alive for some time after being injured. They bore injury marks on the neck, back and below the eyes. Considering the crime scene and the nature of the wounds, the report says the killers were not in a hurry; at the same time, the pattern of the murder is not consistent with crimes by professional killers.
The report states that no evidence was found in the preliminary investigation of one spouse being murdered over a family or marital dispute followed by the other's suicide; scientific examination indicated both were murdered. No information was found that the murder took place for professional reasons either. Discussions with senior officials at Sagar's workplace, Maasranga Television, yielded no information about enmity or dispute in his professional life. Sagar and Runi had lived in Germany for a long time and returned to the country about seven months before their deaths. The report also says no link was found between the murder and the Summit Bibiyana power plant; construction of the plant began in 2013 and operations started in 2015. No information was found that the murder resulted from disputes over money or land either.
The report says the mobile phones and two laptops stolen in the Sagar-Runi case have still not been recovered. The taskforce, comprising the PBI, CID, Police Headquarters and RAB, is continuing efforts to recover the items. It says former IGP Hasan Mahmud Khandker, former DMP DB chief Monirul Islam, former RAB director general Mokhlesur Rahman and former home minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir could not be questioned as persons connected to the investigation. Journalist Rumi Noman has been questioned and his statement recorded, and efforts to question the others are continuing.
On the viscera examination, the report says Sagar and Runi's viscera were not preserved in the first instance. Later, with court permission, the bodies were exhumed and viscera collected again. Samples of lung, liver and stomach were sent to Dhaka Medical College, and examination found no anaesthetic substance. In its comments, the taskforce said that even after the long investigation it has not been possible to unravel the core mystery of the murder, identify and arrest those involved, or recover the looted items. More time was sought to verify the information and data to be received from the tribunal prosecution, question the persons concerned and question witnesses further.
