It was December 3, 2019. Abdul Jalil, a CNG auto rickshaw driver, was picked up by some men in white clothes from Cox's Bazar’s Adalat Para. On the same day, Saddam Hussein, 20, son of the late Sultan Ahmed of Maulvi Bazar village in Hnila Union, also went missing.
Jalil’s whole family went crazy looking for him. News of his going missing was published in local newspapers but proved to be futile, reports Bangla Tribune. Chhenuara Begum, Jalil’s wife, inquired at the offices of various law enforcement agencies but there was no sign of her missing husband anywhere.
Pradeep Kumar Das | CollectedTwo months later, in February this year, a local man who was suddenly released from the police station confirmed Chhenuara that her husband was with the OC’s team, or to be specific, OC Pradeep Kumar Das’s team.
The now infamous OC denied the whole matter at first. However, Pradeep later threatened Jalil’s elder brother Abdur Rashid, saying: “Your brother is a big drug dealer. Bring Tk30 lakh if you want to see him alive.”
The poor auto rickshaw driver’s family could not manage the large sum of money.
In the early hours of July 7, Abdul Jalil, and a certain Saddam Hossain, became victims of a ‘crossfire’ in Teknaf’s Maheshkhalipara.
Fearing the OC and his team, the victim’s family could not speak till now.
Also Read- Pradeep: A cop gone rogue
Relatives of the deceased spoke to reporters in front of Teknaf Pilot High School on Saturday after OC Pradeep's arrest, urging a trial. They claimed that Abdul Jalil was brutally killed after being detained and tortured in a torture cell inside the police station for eight consecutive months. He was not shown as arrested even though he was detained for such a long time, and the police did not even admit that he was detained.
Jalil was killed as his family could not pay the Tk30 lakh extortion money. “Even if he was a criminal, who gave the OC the right to detain him and kill him without a trial?” his family questioned.
“What crime did my husband commit that he had to be killed like that?” asked Chhenuara, who is now left alone to take care of her two children. “He was not involved in drug business even for a day. I demand harsh punishment for the OC's collaborators for this murder,” she continued.
This was not an unusual occurrence in OC Pradeep’s jurisdiction. His ‘team’ has killed over a hundred people over the last 22 months in the same way.
This infamous team operated a ‘torture cell’ on the second floor of the police station, claimed several victims.
At the beginning of this year, Farida Begum alias Kajol, her brother Abdur Rahman, and husband Abdul Kader, were detained by OC Pradeep on allegations of smuggling drugs.
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After being tortured at the police station for two days, Farida, shown with yaba tablets, was sent to court. However, her brother and her husband could not survive. They were killed in the so-called crossfire despite being in police custody.
Farida said: “They forcibly took us to the police station from our house and tortured us separately in a room on the second floor of the police station.
“The next day, I found out that they (Rahman and Kader) had been shot dead. My arms and legs became numb hearing the news.
“My brother was a mechanic and my husband was a CNG auto rickshaw driver. What crime did they commit that they had to be shot dead? We didn't even have a room to stay in. How could we give the OC lakhs of Takas in bribes?”
OC’s team
Multiple local sources in Teknaf say OC Pradeep controlled his “empire” with two trusted teams called the OC’s teams. Pradeep used to implement his own agenda with the help of his teams.
Also Read- ‘Pay the extortion money or become a victim of crossfire’
Pradeep's special teams included ASI Sajib Dutt alias Sanjit, Mithun Bhowmik, constables Sagar Dey, Namjul and Raju Majumder. Other members were SIs Sujit, Mashiur and Kamruzzaman, ASI Amir, Ram, Kazi Mohammad Saif, and constables Rubel, Mithun, and Shariful.
These policemen detained people and took them to the torture cell on the second floor of Teknaf police station at night. They would take people to Marine Drive, and threaten to put them under crossfire if the detained people refused to give the demanded money.
