The High Court on Wednesday started hearing the death reference and appeals of convicts sentenced to maximum punishment by a lower court in the Major (Retd) Sinha Md Rashed Khan murder trial.
The High Court division bench of Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman and Justice Md Sagir Hossain began proceedings after the chief justice forwarded the case for hearing.
Sinha was shot dead by police at the Shamlapur check post in Teknaf on the night of July 31, 2020, as he was returning after shooting videos for his YouTube channel in the village of Marishbunia.
Later, Sinha's sister, Sharmin Shahriar Ferdous, filed the case against nine policemen, including former Teknaf police station officer-in-charge Pradeep Kumar Das and former in-charge of Baharchara Police Investigation Centre Inspector Liakat Ali, at the Cox's Bazar court on August 5, six days after the killing.
Cox's Bazar District and Sessions Judge's Court on January 31, 2022, sentenced Pradeep and Liakat to death and six others—Sub-Inspector Nanda Dulal Rakshit, Constable Rubel Sharma, ASI Sagar Deb, Nurul Amin, Nizam Uddin and Mohammad Ayaz Uddin—to life imprisonment.
The seven other accused, including Armed Police Battalion (APBn) Sub-Inspector Mohammad Shahjahan, constables Mohammad Rajib and Mohammad Abdullah, were acquitted as the charges framed against them were not proved.
