COX'S BAZAR, Jan 29: Sixty-five out of 83 witnesses have been able to prove that Maj (retd) Sinha Md Rashed Khan was murder in a pre-planned manner. A court here has fixed January 31 for delivering the verdict in the sensational murder.
Mohammad Jahangir, counsel for the plaintiff in the case, said that 83 people have been called as witnesses in the charge sheet of the case. At least 65 people have testified in the court. Witnesses have been able to prove that the incident was a pre-planned murder, Mohammad Jahangir, added.
According to the testimony of witnesses the accused will get the maximum punishment, said Mohammad Jahangir. He thinks that in this case, the first two persons will be awarded death sentences and the other accused will given sentences of different terms, he added.
Suspended police inspector Liaqat Ali shot Maj (retd) Sinha and then former officer-in-charge of Teknaf Police Station Pradeep Kumar Das confirmed Sinha was dead, an eye witness Hafez Md Amin, a muezzin, told the court in Cox's Bazar.
Witness Hafez Md Amin
s a muezzin of Baitul Mamur Jame Mosque. He is a direct eye witness of the murder. Muezzin Amin gave his statement for one-and-half hours before Cox's Bazar District and Sessions Judges Court of Judge Md Ismail Hossain.
According to court sources, witness Amin told the court, "Baitul Mamur Jame Mosque is located just near the spot where the murder of Maj (retd) Sinha occurred. I was working at the mosque as the muezzin and it was the day after Eid-ul-Azha. I along with some madrasa students went to the roof of the mosque and heard the call for prayer coming from the nearby Shyamlapur Centre Jame Mosque.
"When we were on the roof, the murder took place. A man with his hands raised up got down from his private car. Inspector Liakat immediately shot him and fired again. After which the man fell on the ground. Later within a few minutes, Teknaf Police Station Officer-in-Charge Pradeep reached there, kicked the man and confirmed his death by pressing down his (Pradeep) foot on the victim's neck. I knew both Pradeep and Liakat very well as they worked at Baharchhara Investigation Centre and Teknaf Police Station," Muezzin Amin added.
The witnesses said this was a pre-planned murder as Sinha was shot even after the APBN saluted him.
On the night of July 31 in 2020, Sinha was shot dead by Liakat at a checkpoint on the Cox's Bazar-Teknaf Marine Drive. Sinha's sister Sharmin Shahria Ferdous subsequently started a case against nine policemen on August 5.
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.
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.
On December 13 in 2020, RAB brought charges against 15 people, including police source Ayaz and three APBN members, in connection with the murder. December 21 in 2020, a Cox's Bazar court accepted the chargesheet.
