ACC sues Pradeep, wife for amassing illegal wealth
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a case against suspended Teknaf police station in charge Pradeep Kumar Das and his wife Chumki Karan for amassing illegal assets worth around Tk 40 million from unknown sources. The case was filed at the Chattogram divisional office of ACC on Sunday, said ACC assistant director Md Riaz Uddin.
Pradeep Kumar Das was suspended due to the case filed over the murder of ex-army major Sinha Md Rashed Khan. He is in jail now.
According to ACC, it has been searching for Pradeep's illegal assets since 2018. In April of the following year, a notice was issued by the ACC for the submission of asset statement. The couple submitted the statement of assets. Pradeep did not mention about flats, land and assets in his wife’s name in the statement.
Pradeep's father was a security guard at the Chittagong Development Authority. Pradeep joined the police in 1995 as a Sub-Inspector (SI). He first came into limelight for accumulating wealth in 2002.
ACC said, Chumki Karan submitted a statement of assets stating that she had received a donation of a six-storey house in Patharghata area of Chattogram from her father. But Chumki's two brothers and another sister did not get any house from their father. It is assumed that Pradeep owns the house through bribery and corruption.
He made his father in law the owner of the house and took over later in 2013 through donation letter. All the properties of Pradeep are in the name of his wife Chumki, who is a housewife and apparently has no income source. The ACC has found evidence of assets worth Tk 44.4 million in the name of Chumki Karan.
According to the ACC investigation, Chumki had Tk 4.9 million as legal income from the savings, gifts and house rent. Apart from that, illegal tangible and intangible assets worth Tk 39.5 millionare found in the name of Chumki which is inconsistent with her known income.
Sinha murder investigation in final stages
The Cox’s Bazar correspondent of Prothom Alo said, the investigation into Sinha murder case is almost in the final stages. But the investigation report is pending for the questioning of Pradeep.
The committee was scheduled to meet Pradeep at the district jail on 19 August. The investigating agency RAB remanded Pradeep Kumar, inspector Liaqat and SI Nandadulal Rakshit for seven days on the day. The investigation committee could not interview Pradeep due to that. However, the previous day, the members of the committee took statements from Liaqat and Nandadulal in the district jail from 11:00am to 7:00pm.
According to sources close to the investigation, the committee has enlisted the names of 68 people in different categories to investigate Sinha's murder. The committee has already completed the interviews of 67 people. The report was to be submitted to the home ministry on 23 August, after Pradeep was interviewed on 19 August. Now the time has been extended for seven days till 31 August.
OC Pradeep's seven-day remand will end on 25 August. The committee will then go to the district jail any day and interview him. Mizanur Rahman, head of the investigation committee, told Prothom Alo that the investigation is almost at the last stage.
Sinha, a former army officer, was shot dead by police at the Shamlapur check post on the night of 31 July on his way back to the Nilima Resort in the Himchhari area of Cox's Bazar on Marine Drive after filming travel videos on Marishbunia hills of Teknaf. At that time, the police arrested Shahedul Islam Sifat who was with Sinha. Shipra Debnath was later arrested from Nilima Resort. Both are now out on bail.
Analysis of the cause of the shots
Investigators are probing whether Sinha's shooting at the checkpoint was premeditated. They say Liaqat Ali blamed his three informants, Nurul Amin, Nazim Uddin and Mohammad Ayas of Marishbunia village in Teknaf, for informing them that those who were coming in cars were robbers and had weapons with them.
Liaqat said, he went to the check post at Shamlapur, about three kilometers away, on Nandadulal Rakshit's motorbike from Baharchhara police outpost where the incident took place.