Former OC Pradip seeks compassion from Hasina

Sentenced to death for the murder of retired Major Sinha Md Rashed Khan, former OC Pradip Kumar Das has pleaded to PM.

Sentenced to death for the murder of retired Major Sinha Md Rashed Khan, former OC Pradip Kumar Das has pleaded with the prime minister for compassion outlining his role in the anti-drugs campaign.

Pradip made the plea following a witness hearing of the assets beyond means case by the Anti-Corruption Commission or ACC as he was being returned to the jail from Chattogram Divisional Special Judge’s Court on Thursday.

He was produced in the Chattogram court from Gazipur’s Kashimpur High Security Central Jail. Pradip’s wife Chumki Karon, who is also charged in the case, is currently on the run.

As he was getting on the prison van, the ex-Teknaf OC began yelling about how he fought against drugs for the country. He said he has been punished “despite committing no crime”.

“Honourable prime minister, I want your compassion and help.”

His words, however, fell on deaf ears and the people surrounding the van retaliated by saying - “It’s no use saying these,” and went on to decry him by calling him a “thief”.

On Jan 31, a Cox’s Bazar court sentenced Pradip and Liakat Ali, another police personnel, to death.

Judge Mohammad Ismail jailed six other suspects for life and acquitted seven others in the closely-watched verdict.

Having shown no reaction on the day of the verdict, Pradip pleaded not guilty in public on Thursday.

In May 2018, the authorities launched a nationwide anti-drugs campaign and Pradip joined Teknaf police in October that year from an identical position in Maheshkhali.

He received the Bangladesh Police Medal or BPM, the highest accolade for the force, in 2019. His award cites ‘only six crossfire incidents’.

According to locals, Teknaf police ‘killed people indiscriminately,’ during Pradip’s tenure. Marine Drive Road became known as a key location for the extrajudicial ‘killing of people under the guise of crossfire.’

The Sinha murder investigation report also said more than 100 people died in ‘gunfight incidents’ led by Pradip or on his orders.

Drug kingpin and CIP Haji Saiful Karim and Noor Alam, aka Rohingya Robber, were among those killed in these incidents.

In July 2020, police in Cox's Bazar shot and killed retired army officer Sinha in an egregious abuse of their authority, sparking a public outcry.

Sinha, 36, was a member of the Special Security Force tasked with guarding the prime minister. Sinha had gone into early retirement to pursue his personal interests.

Fifteen suspects, including Pradip, were accused of murdering Sinha at a checkpoint on the Marine Drive in the resort town.

After the incident, the lid was blown on Pradip's chequered past, which involved framing gunfights in the name of drug busts near the Myanmar border in Teknaf.

He had similarly tried to cover up the killing of Sinha as a 'gunfight'.

In the wake of the incident, former officers of the armed forces demanded the arrest of all policemen involved.

After Sinha's murder on July 31, 2020, his sister started a murder case against nine policemen, including Pradip and Inspector Liakat Ali, on Aug 5.

Four and a half months later, on Dec 13, the case's investigation officer Md Khairul Islam pressed formal charges against the 15 suspects.

The trial opened after they were indicted by judge Ismail on Jun 27, 2021. In the course of the trial, the court heard 65 testimonies, including nine eyewitness accounts.