The death penalty convict former Teknaf Police Station OC Pradeep Kumar Das was the main architect of 'gunfights' in the Teknaf area, said protesters assembled on the Cox's Bazar court premises on Monday.
People claiming themselves to be the family members of the people Pradeep killed and
terrorised under the guise of an anti-drug campaign in the area stood with banners inscribed with their demand for capital punishment of the former police officer.
Pradeep was known for threatening to kill people in staged gunfights with law enforcers and extorting their families for money. Some of the protesters were carrying photographs of the loved ones killed in these alleged gunfights.
Pradeep Kumar Das, chief of Teknaf Police Station, used to torture innocent people under the guise of war on drugs, they claimed.
After the killing of Maj (retd) Sinha Md Rashed Khan, the lid was blown on Pradeep's chequered past. An investigation from the Ministry of Home Affairs found that 174 people were killed in 106 'gunfights' during the 33-month tenure of Pradeep as Teknaf Police Station chief. He had similarly tried to cover up the killing of Sinha as a 'gunfight'.
After Sinha's murder on July 31 in 2020, his sister started a murder case against nine policemen, including Pradeep and Inspector Liakat Ali, on Aug 5.
But the killing of retired Maj Sinha brought his schemes to light and an investigation by the Rapid Action Battalion has revealed how Pradeep committed his crimes by forming a gang of like-minded policemen.
Pradeep, former chief of Teknaf police station, is widely known for his heroism and media briefings about eradicating drugs from Teknaf.
Pradeep joined Teknaf Police Station as its chief on October 20 in 2018, after serving as the chief of Moheshkhali Police Station.
After his transfer to Teknaf, he 'misused his legal powers' to gain financial benefits.
He had many other complaints against him while in Chattogram before he was transferred to Cox's Bazar, including grabbing land belonging to his half-sister, physically assaulting a lawyer and arresting and harassing the driver of a private oil refinery lorry.
After a massive backlash, Pradeep was fired from the police and sent to jail on August 6 in 2020. He was named in 12 cases in Cox's Bazar and Chattogram for the murder of 15 people. A journalist in Cox's Bazar filed a case against him over torture.
In addition, the Anti-Corruption Commission filed a case over accumulating wealth through illegal means against Pradeep and his wife Chumki Karon.
The case dossier of the Sinha murder says that Pradeep aimed to extort millions by threatening to kill them.
On September 8 in 2020, journalist Faridul Mostafa Khan, editor and publisher of Janatar Bani.com and Daily Cox's Bazar Bani filed a case against 26 policemen, including Pradeep, for torturing him. According to the case dossier, Faridul published news about Pradeep's 'extrajudicial killing and drug business.'
The Anti-Corruption Commission charged Pradeep and his wife Chumki with having illicit assets.
The national anti-graft agency charged Pradeep and Chumki with amassing more than Tk 23.5 million beyond known sources of income, and money laundering. They also concealed information on assets worth Tk 4.9 million.
Pradeep and Chumki were initially charged with amassing more than Tk 39.5 million beyond known sources of income, concealing information on assets and money laundering. The amount changed after the investigation.
