The High Court on Monday upheld the death sentences of former Teknaf police OC Pradeep Kumar Das and Baharchhara outpost in-charge Md Liakat Ali for the 2020 murder of retired army major Sinha Md Rashed Khan in Cox鈥檚 Bazar.
The bench of Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman and Justice Md Sagir Hossain also upheld the life imprisonment of six other convicts鈥攕ub-inspector Nanda Dulal Rakshit, constables Rubel Sharma and Sagar Dev, and three civilians 鈥� Nurul Amin, Nizam Uddin, and Ayas Uddin.
The verdict came as the court rejected both the death reference of Pradeep and Liakat and appeals filed by all eight convicts, challenging their convictions handed down by the Cox鈥檚 Bazar District and Sessions Judge Court on January 31, 2022.
Major Sinha, who had taken early retirement from the Bangladesh Army in 2018 to pursue documentary filmmaking, was returning from a shoot with his cameraman Shahidul Islam Sefat when he was shot to death at a police checkpoint at Cox鈥檚 Bazar鈥揟eknaf Marine Drive on July 31 in 2020.
The trial court earlier found that the killing was premeditated, rejecting the police鈥檚 initial claim that Sinha had died in a gunfight鈥攁 version later disproved by investigators.
During the appeal hearings, senior lawyer Munsurul Haque Chowdhury, representing Pradeep, sought his acquittal, arguing that his client had no prior knowledge of the incident and was implicated solely based on co-accused Liakat鈥檚 confession, which he claimed was recorded during an unlawful third phase of police remand.
Similarly, senior lawyer SM Shajahan, representing Liakat, requested the commutation of his client鈥檚 death sentence to life imprisonment. Defence counsels for the remaining six convicts also pleaded for acquittals, denying their involvement.
Attorney general Md Asaduzzaman opposed all appeals, urging the court to uphold the original judgment to end impunity for extrajudicial killings disguised as crossfire.
Referring to witness accounts, the attorney general told the court that Sinha was shot twice after stepping out of his vehicle, followed by two more shots.
鈥楬is death was confirmed by pressing a boot on his throat,鈥� he added, describing the killing as cold-blooded and an act that shocked the nation.
