A group of people on Monday staged a protest on the premises of the Cox’s Bazar court, demanding death penalty for Pradip Kumar Das, the former OC of Teknaf police, who is one of the prime accused in the killing of retired Major Sinha Md Rashed Khan.
The court is expected to deliver its verdict later in the day over the 2020 murder on the Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf Marine Drive.
Over 100 people took part in the human chain demonstration, held around 11am, when they raised slogans demanding the maximum punishment for Pradip, whom they say had “unleashed a reign of terror” while serving as the head of police in Teknaf.
They said Pradip operated a ‘torture cell’ inside the police station.
Meanwhile, security has been ratcheted up in and around the court in Cox’s Bazar ahead of the verdict in the widely-discussed murder a year and half ago.
Security personnel had been deployed at both entrances to the court premises and a seven-stage security perimeter has been set up.
“Police are on alert,” Additional Superintendent Md Rafiqul Islam told the media.
“Members of other law enforcement agencies have been deployed alongside police. We are monitoring the situation to ensure that no unnecessary traffic enters the area. No one, except those involved in trials, will be allowed to enter court today.”
As many as six checkpoints have been set up at the entrance road to the court, the deputy commissioner’s office area and the kitchen market area. Apart from the deployments and police team has been kept on standby.
In July 2020, police officers in Cox's Bazar shot and killed retired army officer Sinha in an egregious abuse of their authority, sparking a public outcry.
On January 12 this year, the court concluded the trial and fixed January 31 for delivering the verdict.
Fifteen people, including 12 former policemen, have been tried over the over the killing.
They include former sub-inspectors Liakat Ali and Nanda Dulal Raxit, former Teknaf Police Station OC Pradip Kumar Das, former constables Shafanur Karim, Kamal Hossain, Abdullah Al Mamun, Rubel Sharma and Mohammad Mostafa, former ASI Sagar Deb, Armed Police Battalion’s SI Mohammad Shahjahan and constables Mohammad Rajib and Mohammad Abdullah.
The three other accused — Nurul Amin, Nezam Uddin ad Mohammad Ayaz — were initially named as witnesses in a case started by the police over the incident.
On the night of July 31, 2020, Sinha was shot dead by Liakat at a checkpoint on the Cox's Bazar-Teknaf Marine Drive.
The 36-year-old former army officer, who served at the Special Security Force tasked with guarding the president and 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.
After his death, the police said they fired in self-defence when Sinha brandished a pistol at law enforcers after obstructing a search of his vehicle at the checkpoint at Shamlapur along the Cox's Bazar-Teknaf Marine Drive.
The police then arrested Sinha’s co-workers Shahedul Islam Sefat and Shipra Debnath. They were accused in two cases started by the police over Sinha’s death and alleged recovery of drugs.
The home ministry formed a high-level inquiry after questions were raised about the details of the incident provided by the police while allegations of ‘extrajudicial killings’ against the police also resurfaced.
Sinha’s sister Sharmin Shahria Ferdous subsequently started a case against nine policemen on August 5.
Later, seven policemen, including Liakat and Pradip, surrendered to the court in connection with the case filed by Sinha's sister. They were also suspended from their jobs.
