Ex-OC Pradeep gets 20 years, wife 21 in jail in graft case

A Chattogram court on Wednesday sentenced disgraced former Teknaf Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Pradeep Kumar Das to 20 years in jail and his wife Chumki to 21 years for amassing wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income.

Chattogram Divisional Special Judge Munshi Abdul Majid handed down the punishment to Pradeep Kumar Das and his wife, and ordered the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to confiscate their properties, said public prosecutor Mahmudul Haque Mahmud.

Pradeep, also a death row convict in the murder case of Major Sinha Mohammad Rashed Khan (retired), is currently lodged in Chattogram district Jail. His wife is also in judicial custody.

On July 18, the court fixed Wednesday as the judgment day in the case.

On December 15, 2021, the Chattogram court indicted ex-OC Pradeep and his wife in the case. On September 1 last year, the court accepted a chargesheet in the graft case against the former cop and his wife.

ACC Chittagong assistant director Md Riaz Uddin submitted the chargesheet on July 26. The Commission filed the case against the couple for amassing wealth over Tk 4 crore, on August 23 in 2020.

ACC sources said the anti-graft watchdog’s investigation against the disgraced cop started way back in 2018. On April 20 last year, he and his wife were asked to submit their wealth statement which they did in two months.

It may be mentioned here that on July 31, 2020, Major Sinha was shot dead at the Shamlapur police check-post in Baharchhara union of Cox's Bazar on his way back to the town after filming for a documentary.

On August 5, 2020, Sinha's sister, Sharmin Shahriar Ferdous, filed a case in Teknaf Senior Judicial Magistrate Court accusing nine members of law enforcement agencies of being involved in the killing, including ex-OC Pradeep and Baharchhara police outpost inspector Liakat Ali.

On December 13, the same year, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) submitted a charge-sheet against 15 people, including ex-OC Pradeep, police informer Ayaz and three APBn members, in the case.

On June 27, 2021, the court framed charges against them.