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Dhaka, June 2, 2025 – The High Court has upheld the death penalty for former Officer-in-Charge (OC) Pradeep Kumar Das and Inspector Liakat Ali in the high-profile murder case of retired Army Major Sinha Mohammad Rashed Khan. Additionally, the court maintained life imprisonment for six other accused and upheld a fine of BDT 50,000 for each convict.
The verdict was announced on Monday by a High Court bench comprising Justice Md. Mostafizur Rahman and Justice Md. Sagir Hossain. The ruling follows the conclusion of hearings on the death reference and appeals filed by the accused, which ended on May 29, 2025, with the court reserving the judgment for June 2.
The case stems from the killing of Major Sinha on July 31, 2020, at around 9:30 PM at the Shamlapur checkpoint on the Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf Marine Drive road. Major Sinha was fatally shot by Inspector Liakat Ali, then posted at the Baharchhara Investigation Centre. Five days later, on August 5, 2020, Sinha’s sister, Sharmin Shahriar Ferdous, filed a case. On December 13, 2020, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) submitted a chargesheet against 15 individuals, terming the incident a “planned murder.”
On January 31, 2022, the Cox’s Bazar District and Sessions Judge’s Court, presided over by Judge Mohammad Ismail, sentenced OC Pradeep and Inspector Liakat to death. Sub-Inspector Nandadulal Rakshit, Constable Rubel Sharma, and Sagar Deb, along with Mohammad Nurul Amin, Mohammad Ayaz, and Mohammad Nizam Uddin from Marishbunia village in Baharchhara, received life imprisonment. Seven other accused were acquitted. The death penalty confirmation was sent to the High Court as a death reference, while the convicted appealed their sentences.
The High Court began hearing the death reference and appeals on June 23, 2024. On April 21, 2025, Chief Justice Dr. Syed Refaat Ahmed ordered the case to be prioritized, transferring all related documents to the bench of Justices Md. Mostafizur Rahman and Md. Sagir Hossain.
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