Special Correspondent with Cox’s Bazar and Chattogram Correspondents
The elite force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on Sunday again claimed that Pradeep Kumar, former Teknaf OC, masterminded to kill retired army major Sinha Rashed Khan.
The controversial police officer killed the retired army officer because he was about to unearth the secret information of illegal yaba trading of OC Pradeep.
OC Praddep is now in jail in connection with the sensational murder.
RAB earlier submitted the chargesheet of the much-talked retired army major Sinha Mohammad Rashed Khan murder case.
In the charge sheet, suspended OC Pradeep was mentioned as the mastermind and Liaquat as the killer.
The report was filed in Cox's Bazar senior judicial magistrate's court by RAB-15 officer Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Khairul Alam accusing 15 people, including OC Pradeep.
The main accused in the case was Liakat Ali, the inspector in charge of the Baharchhara police outpost, who shot Sinha. Teknaf Police Station’s suspended OC Pradeep Kumar Das has been made the No. 2 accused.
The third accused in the case is Teknaf Police Station SI Dulal Rakshit, who filed a case under the Narcotics and Weapons Act after Sinha's death. The seven accused policemen then surrendered to the court. In the course of investigation, RAB arrested a total of 14 people, including three locals, including APBN and Pradeep's bodyguard, in connection with the murder.
RAB, the investigating agency of the case, has so far found evidence of the involvement of 15 people in the murder. Of them, 14 are currently in jail and one of OC Pradeep's associates named, Sagar has been shown as a fugitive.
Lieutenant Colonel Ashique Billah, director of RAB Legal and Media wing, in a press briefing in the capital Dhaka made these claims quoting the charge sheet which was submitted in the earlier of the day in a Cox’s Bazar court.
The RAB officer further said, "While shooting for a documentary as a youtuber in Teknaf, slain Sinha came to know about the involvement of Pradeep in illegal yaba smuggling.”
The retired army officer also came to know how OC Pradeep used to terrorise the local people misusing his power as a law enforcing officer.
OC Pradeep wanted to cover up all his misdeeds, which could be revealed by Sinha. Thus Sinha became a threat to OC Pradeep.
According to Lt Col Ashique Billah, initially OC Pradeep threatened Sinha when he went to take OC Pradeep's interview on his involvement in yaba smuggling. So, OC Pradeep made a plan to kill Sinha.
Later, as per Pradeep's order over phone, SI Liakat Ali shot retired major Sinha to death at Shamlapur police check-post at Teknaf's Baharchhara union, on Cox's Bazar Marine Drive, on the night of 31 July this year.
After submitting the report to the court ASP Khairul Alam said, "We have investigated the Sinha murder case in various ways. The information obtained in the investigation has been submitted as the chargesheet."
However ,Mahmud Salah Uddin, the lawyer in the revision case of the accused, has commented that the charge sheet of Sinha murder case is invalid.
Retired major Sinha was killed in police firing at Shamlapur police check-post at Teknaf's Baharchhara union, on Cox's Bazar Marine Drive, on the night of 31 July this year.
Later on 5 August, Sinha's sister Sharmin Shahriar Ferdous filed a murder case against nine people, including former Teknaf Police Station OC Pradeep Kumar Das.
