Members of the police force being interrogated in the retired army major Sinha Md Rashed Khan killing case said that the killing was not a premeditated one and occurred on the spur of the moment.
So far the investigators have ascertained that Sinha did not aim any gun at police, reliable sources in RAB confirmed this to Prothom Alo.
Speaking to the media at the spot of the incident in Marishbunia, Teknaf on Monday, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) director general, Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun, said. “We are investigating every bit of information. Investigations are proceeding positively. You will get to know everything.”
A RAB official involved in the investigations said, “All the details will be clear after interrogating the main two accused persons in the case, Teknaf police station’s officer-in-charge (OC) Pradeep Kumar Das and the inspector of Baharchhari outpost Liaqat Ali."
Members of the government’s investigation team on Monday interrogated Liaqat Ali and Nandadulal Rakkhit.
Meanwhile, Shipra Debnath, in a video message to the media on Monday, appealed for justice. She said that personal pictures of her were being circulated on the social media to defame her character.
An official of RAB, speaking to Prothom Alo, said so far there has been no evidence of Sinha aiming his gun at the police.
Retired army major Sinha Md Rashed Khan was shot dead on 31 July by police inspector Liaqat Ali at the Shamlapur police check post in Baharchhara union along the Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf Marine Drive. After this incident, police went to the Nilima Resort and picked up two members of Sinha’s video team, Shipra Debnath and Tahsin Rifat Nur. Nur was later released and Shipra was granted bail.
The forces took contradictory stands on this matter. In order to bring the situation under control, Army chief General Aziz Ahmed and inspector general of police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed held a meeting at Cox’s Bazar followed by a joint press conference. Seven members of the police including Pradeep Kumar and Liaqat Ali were arrested in the Sinha killing case. They are presently in jail.
RAB is investigating all cases regarding the incident. RAB DG Abdullah Al Mamun on Monday inspected the spot of the incident at Marishbunia. Prior to that, he held a meeting with officials at the army welfare trust’s rest house Jaltaranga.
In reply to questions from the media as to whether he thought the killing was premeditated or spur-of-the-moment, the RAB DG said, “We are investigating the matter and you will get to know the results of the investigation. We have found details, but cannot reveal these at the moment in the interests of the investigation.”
As to whether Sinha’s gun was found in the car or on the road, he said, this cannot be said at the moment. Further investigations will clarify everything. When asked whether there was any evidence as to whether Sinha had aimed his gun, the DG replied it would not be right to comment on this now.
An official of RAB, speaking to Prothom Alo, said so far there has been no evidence of Sinha aiming his gun at the police, though according to the case filed by Teknaf model police station sub-inspector (SI) Nandadulal Rakkhit, Sinha had drawn his pistol from his hip and was about to shoot.
Shipra said she and her colleague were being socially humiliated. Her personal pictures were being edited and uploaded on the social media.
Inquiry committee visits jail
The four-member inquiry team of the home ministry, headed by Chattogram additional divisional commissioner Mohammad Mizanur Rahman questioned two of the accused at the jail gate, Liaqat Ali and Nandadulal Rakkhit, not Pradeep Kumar Das.
They questioned them separately at around 11am. They asked about the reason for shooting Sinha, about his getting out of the car and mobile phone interaction before and after the incident.
Shipra’s video message
After their release on bail, Shipra Debnath and Shahidul Islam Sifat have been staying at the Jaltaranga rest house. Shipra had made a video for her YouTube channel from here. On Monday morning she made a video message from there for the media. In her message she said that the Teknaf police station OC Pradeep Kumar Das and inspector Liaqat Ali killed Sinha in cold blood. She said a year after her acquaintance with Sinha, on 3 July they began making a video for a YouTube channel. Sinha was the guardian of their team. Talking about the situation after Sinha was killed, Shipra said the police entered their resort after midnight on 31 July and searched the place. They did not say anything about Sinha and Sifat. After 2:30 am they learnt that Sinha had been killed. At around 4:30 am the police took them to the Ramu police station. In the afternoon they were taken from there to the police superintendent’s office. Shipra said, “I requested them to allow me to see Sinha for one last time, but no one listened to me. Then I was sent to jail.”
While speaking about her jail experience, Shipra asked, “Under what law are the men in Teknaf upazila, even if they are drug traders, killed in crossfire and their wives tortured? She said that many have even paid ransom to get their husbands released, only to get back their dead bodies. She appealed to human rights activists to visit the jails."
Shipra said after the killing of Sinha, now she and her colleague were being socially humiliated. Her personal pictures were being edited and uploaded on the social media. The police took everything away from their cottage after Sinha was killed. She said steps would be taken under the digital security act against those who had taken pictures from her personal devices and posted these on Facebook, intruding on her personal life. She said she was being defamed in order to cover up the killing, but if this happened, thousands of youth would not desist from revenge.
When Cox’s Bazar superintendent of police ABM Masud Hossain was asked about Shipra’s comments, he told Prothom Alo she has been provided with all cooperation and facilities since she was detained. She was never kept in detention. He said he had no idea why she was saying all this.
Bank accounts frozen
Meanwhile, as part of investigations, the bank accounts of eight persons, including the Cox’s Bazar district superintendent of police (SP) and Teknaf police station’s dismissed OC Pradeep Kumar Das, have been frozen. Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) has asked for their bank statements.
The eight persons whose bank accounts have been frozen and whose account details have been sought are SP ABM Masud Hossain, OC Pradeep Kumar Das, Chumki Karan, Pratim Kumar Das, Pratush Kumar Das, Md Liaqat Ali and actor Ilyas Kobra.