Liaqat shot Sinha, OC Pradip confirmed his death stamping on neck: Witness

Police Inspector (suspended) Liaquat Ali shot major Sinha Md Rashed Khan while Pradeep Kumar Das (then officer-in-charge of Teknaf Police Station) confirmed his death by stepping on neck, said Hafiz Amin, the fifth witness of the much-talked-about murder case.

Hafiz Amin testified in the Cox's Bazar court on Tuesday, the third day of the second phase of the testimony of the case.

When Sinha was shot dead by police at Shamlapur Check Post on Teknaf Marine Drive road on the night of 31 July 2020, Hafiz Amin was on the roof of a nearby mosque cum Madrasa which he said is 30-40 steps away from the crime spot. He was the imam of that mosque.

While testifying, Hafiz Amin told the court Sinha was lying on the ground (on the road) after he was shot by police inspector Liaquat Ali near the check post that night. He was begging for water to save his life. Liaquat went to Sinha and kicked him in the chest several times. He also pressed his head against the ground with his feet, said Lawyers associated with the case.

Amin also said that Pradeep Kumar Das (then officer-in-charge of Teknaf Police Station) reached the spot in a white microbus from Teknaf shortly afterwards. Sinha was still alive and uttering "water…water…". Pradeep then kicked him and ensured his death by suffocating him with his boots.

However, Pradeep's lawyer Rana Das Gupta said, "Hafiz Amin was a Rohingya. He himself does not know who is on the committee of that mosque. He does not know the name of the president and general secretary of the mosque committee. How can he be the imam of the mosque? So, we think everything he said is a lie."

Amin is a displaced Rohingya from Camp-23 in Shamlapur of Teknaf. How can he claim to be a witness when he is not allowed to leave the camp? asked the lawyer.

Advocate Rana also claimed that accused Pradeep Kumar Das was being deprived of the rights he was entitled to in jail as a first-class officer.  He urged the court to ensure the due facilities.

The court has been directed to take action in this regard according to the jail code.

On the other hand, the court rejected the plea of another defendant's lawyer regarding the Home Ministry's inquiry committee report about the incident saying that it was a state document and does not need to be presented at this point in the case.

Meanwhile, the lawyers of the accused in the case of the murder of Major (retd) Sinha Md Rashed Khan are wasting time in the name of interrogation to witnesses, prosecution lawyers alleged on Tuesday.

On the other hand, the defendant's lawyers have alleged that various people have been presented as witnesses to speak in the interest of a vested quarter.