A Cox’s Bazar court has resumed hearing witnesses in the trial over the killing of retired Bangladesh Army major Sinha Mohammad Rashed Khan for the fourth day.
On Tuesday, the district and sessions judge’s court started recording the testimony of Hafez Zahirul Islam.
The court is also expected to hear depositions of Cox’s Bazar hospital physicians, Shaheen Abdur Rahman and Randhir Debnath, and Sergeant Ayub Ali the same day, said Public Prosecutor Faridul Alam.
The trial in the July 2020 killings kicked-off on August 23, when the court heard the testimony from plaintiff Sarmin Sahria Ferdous, the slain army officer’s sister.
Until Tuesday, the court recorded statements of nine witnesses.
Thirty-six-year-old Sinha had gone into early retirement to pursue his new career. His father Ershad Khan was a deputy secretary at the finance ministry.
As an army officer, he served the Special Security Force and was attached with the team that that gave protection to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Sinha was shot dead by the police at a checkpoint on the Cox's Bazar-Teknaf Marine Drive on the night of July 31 last year.
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The former army officer had been staying at Nilima Resort in Himchhari of Cox’s Bazar 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.
On August 5, Sinha’s sister Sharmin filed a case with a Cox’s Bazar court accusing nine members of law enforcement agencies, including the then Teknaf police OC Pradeep Kumar Das and the then Baharchhara police outpost inspector Liakat Ali.
On December 13, 2020, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) pressed charges against 15 people, including police source Ayaz and three APBn members, over the killing at a checkpost, where officers of the Teknaf police station intercepted Sinha's car.
All of the 15 defendants in the chargesheet are currently in jail. Of them, 12 have given confessional statements before the court except for OC Pradeep Kumar Das, constables Sagar Dev and Rubel Sharma.
Other accused of the case are- Inspector of Baharchara Police outpost Liakat Ali, sub-inspectors Nandolal Rakkhit and Tutul, assistant sub-inspector Liton Mia; constables Shafanur Karim, Kamal Hossain, Abdullah AL Mamun, Md Rajib and Md Abdullah, ASI of APBN Md Shahjahan and Nurul Amin, Md Nizamuddin and Ayaz Uddin.
Meanwhile, a journalist platform working against the repression of media persons organized a human chain in Cox's Bazar to demand execution of all the accused in the case, including former Teknaf OC Pradeep.
The human chain was held in front of the deputy commissioner's office at around 11am on Tuesday.
A number of people from Teknaf and Ukhiya took part in the human chain who were tortured by the former OC including Faridul Mustafa Khan, editor of the Daily Cox's Bazar Bani.
