Sinha Murder Verdict: Pradeep, Liakat Sentenced to Death

A Cox’s Bazar court has sentenced former officer-in-charge of Teknaf model police station Pradeep Kumar Das and Baharchhara police outpost inspector Liakat Ali to death while seven including three members of Armed Police Battalion (APBn) were acquitted in the Maj (retd) Sinha Mohammad Rashed Khan murder case.  The rest of the convicted were sentenced to life imprisonment, reports media.

On Monday afternoon, District and Sessions Judge Court Judge Mohammad Ismail also ordered life-term imprisonment for six others for aiding the murder of Maj (retd) Sinha, who was on his car touring the town to make travel documentaries. 

The judge acquitted seven others in presence of the accused in a packed courtroom with hundreds of people waiting outside demanding the highest punishment for the killers.

Earlier, after the accused were brought to court, the judge started reading out observations of the verdict when he said that it was proven beyond doubt that the victim had been killed in a planned manner. 

In his observation, the judge said that Liaqat fired four shots at Sinha, who had his hands up leaning to the front, at the check post.

Liaqat in his statement also said that Pradeep had asked him to take action against Sinha. After the shooting, Pradeep appeared at the scene and kicked the body to leave him lifeless. 

Of the 15 accused, 12 are members of law enforcement agencies while three others are locals, who worked as police sources. Among the 12, nine are from the police and three from the Armed Police Battalion (APBn).

All but Pradeep and constable Rubel Sharma gave confessional statements in court.

Major (retd) Sinha, an ex-student of Jahangirnagar University, was shot dead at the Shamlapur check-post under Teknaf Upazila on the night of July 31, 2020. 

Two of his compatriots, both students of Stamford University working on documentaries with Sinha, were arrested for questioning. They were accused in two cases started by the police over Sinha’s death and alleged recovery of drugs.

Sinha's sister Sharmin Shahriar Ferdous filed another case against nine policemen including Pradeep and Liaqat on August 5, six days after the killing.

The court took cognizance of the case and assigned Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) to investigate.

Maj (retd) Sinha, a 36-year-old former army officer, who served at the Special Security Force (SSF) tasked with guarding the president and the prime minister, had gone into early retirement to pursue his interests.

He had been staying at a resort in Cox’s Bazar’s Himchhari with three others for around a month to film a travel documentary titled “Let’s Go”.

After his death, the police said they fired in self-defence when Sinha brandished a pistol at the law enforcers after obstructing a search of his vehicle at the checkpoint at Shamlapur along the Cox's Bazar-Teknaf Marine Drive.

After the investigation, RAB-15 Cox's Bazar Senior Assistant Superintendent of Police Khairul Islam submitted the charge sheet against the 15 people on December 13, 2020.

On June 27, 2021, the court indicted the accused in the case.

From August 23 to December 1 last year, some 65 out of 83 witnesses testified in eight phases while the accused testified in court on December 6 and 7.

The judicial proceedings came to an end when the lawyers of both parties presented arguments in the case from January 9 to 12.