Staff Correspondent:

The High Court has granted another six months for the investigation into the murder of journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi.

The bench of Justice Fatema Najib and Justice Shikdar Mahmudur Razi passed the order on Tuesday following a time extension petition filed by the state.

Additional Attorney General Arshadur Rauf represented the state during the hearing, while Advocate Shishir Monir appeared for the writ petitioner.

On 23 October last year, the High Court, in its directive, formed a four-member high-level taskforce headed by the chief of the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) to investigate the case. The taskforce also includes a police representative not below the rank of Additional DIG, along with representatives from the CID and RAB.

The Public Security Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a gazette notification on 17 October forming the taskforce. On 30 September, the High Court had ordered the formation of a high-powered taskforce to investigate the murder case and asked it to complete the probe within six months. At the same time, the court ordered the removal of RAB from the investigation.

On 11 February 2012, Sagar Sarowar, news editor at Maasranga Television, and his wife Meherun Runi, senior reporter at ATN Bangla, were murdered in their West Rajabazar residence in the capital. Runi’s brother Nausher Alam Roman later filed a murder case with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station.