The High Court has granted a high-level task force six more months to complete the investigation into the murder of journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi, after the task force reported finding the involvement of former army officer Ziaul Ahsan and cultural personality Rokeya Prachi in the case.

The state presented a report containing the information before the High Court on Tuesday, citing the prosecution of the International Crimes Tribunal.

After the hearing, a High Court bench comprising Justice Sikder Mahmudur Razi and Justice Fatema Anwar ordered a further six-month extension of the investigation deadline.

The court also directed Tanvir Zohra, head of the task force and a prosecutor at the International Crimes Tribunal, to appear in person before the High Court on April 29, 2027, with all relevant case documents.

Although a date had already been set for submitting the investigation report, the task force had applied for an extension before the scheduled deadline. In response to that application, the court decided to extend the time.

According to court sources, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal and Prosecutor Tanvir confirmed to the task force that Ziaul and Prachi were involved in the murder. Attorney General Ruhul Quddus Kazal formally informed the High Court of the matter.

On the night of February 11, 2012, journalist couple Sagar, news editor of Maasranga Television, and Runi, senior reporter at ATN Bangla, were brutally murdered at their rented home in West Rajabazar, Dhaka. Their bodies, bearing multiple injuries, were recovered early the following morning. On the same day, Runi's brother, Nausher Ali Roman, filed a murder case with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station.

The case remained under investigation by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) for years without any visible progress. On September 30, 2024, the High Court removed RAB from the investigation and directed the formation of a high-level task force under the Ministry of Home Affairs. The task force was instructed to submit its report by April 6, 2025.

The Ministry of Home Affairs subsequently formed the task force. However, the hearing was postponed because the High Court was on vacation on the scheduled date. Subsequently, following applications by the state, the court granted six-month extensions on three occasions — April 22, October 23 and April 26 of this year.