OC Pradeep denied bail in corruption case

Pradeep Kumar Das
File photo

The court rejected a bail petition by Pradeep Kumar Das, suspended officer-in-charge (OC) of Teknaf police station in Cox’s Bazar, in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Sunday.

The Chittagong metropolitan sessions judge Shiekh Ashfaqur Rahman passed the order after a hearing at 11:30am.

ACC lawyer Mahmudul Haque confirmed this to Prothom Alo.

The case was filed against the suspended law enforcement member for allegedly amassing illegal wealth worth around Tk 40 million through ‘bribery and corruption’.

ACC lawyer Mahmudul Haque told Prothom Alo that the court, on request made by Pradeep’s lawyer, had directed the jail super to take action as per prison code regarding Pradeep’s medical and prison visits.

“The court was told at the hearing that the accused may flee if granted bail,” Mahmudul said. “There are specific allegations including money laundering against him. The court was told that the accused’s bail plea should be rejected,” he said adding that, however, Pradeep’s lawyers pleaded for bail, terming these charges as lies and conspiracy.

On 14 September, the court showed Pradeep arrested after hearing of the case filed by ACC and had fixed 20 September for hearing on the bail petition.

According to ACC sources, Pradeep’s wife Chumki too is an accused in the case, but was on the run since Pradeep landed in jail.

Earlier, retired army major Sinha Mohammad Rashed Khan was shot dead by police at the Shamlapur check post on the night of 31 July on his way back to Himchhari, Cox's Bazar on Marine Drive after filming videos in Teknaf.

Rashed Khan’s sister Sharmin Shariya Ferdous filed a case with the judicial magistrate court in Cox’s Bazar on 5 August.

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Following that, Pradeep took leave from the police station saying that he was ill and went into hiding in Chattogram. On 6 August, he surrendered to the Cox’s Bazar court and since then has been in jail.

Later, the bank accounts of eight persons including Pradeep, his wife and Cox’s Bazar police superintendent were frozen on the orders of the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit.

On 23 August, ACC deputy director Mohammad Riaz Uddin filed a case against Pradeep and his wife. According to the statement, Pradeep's father was a security guard at Chittagong Development Authority. Pradeep joined the police in 1995 as a sub-inspector. He first drew attention in 2002 for amassing wealth.

According to the ACC, Chumki Karan submitted a statement of assets stating that she had received a gift of a six-storey house in Patharghata, Chattogram from her father. But Chumki's two brothers and sister did not get any house from their father.

It is assumed that Pradeep bought the house through bribery and corruption, but made his father-in-law the owner of the house. Later, he took over the house in 2013 as 'gift'.

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. radeep spent Tk 2.17 million of this on various purposes including family expenses.

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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 million are found in her name which is inconsistent with her known income.

The ACC found that OC Pradeep kept the assets in his wife’s name after he bought those with money earned through bribery and corruption.

The case is now being investigated by ACC deputy director Mohammad Riaz Uddin.