A checkpoint encounter became a national murder case
On the night of July 31, 2020, retired Major Sinha Md Rashed Khan was travelling along the Cox's Bazar–Teknaf Marine Drive after filming material for a video project. At the Shamlapur police checkpoint, he was shot and killed.
Sinha's sister filed a murder case days later. The investigation focused on police conduct at the checkpoint and on the actions of officers and civilian associates before and after the shooting.
The trial produced convictions and acquittals
On January 31, 2022, the Cox's Bazar District and Sessions Judge's Court sentenced former Teknaf police officer-in-charge Pradeep Kumar Das and former inspector Liaqat Ali to death. Six other defendants received life imprisonment. Seven other accused were acquitted after the court concluded that the charges against them had not been proved.
Those different outcomes are preserved here. The acquitted defendants are not described as participants in the murder merely because they were originally charged.
The High Court reviewed both the death references and appeals
Because Bangladesh requires High Court confirmation of capital sentences, the case reached the High Court through death references as well as appeals by the convicted defendants. Hearings began in April 2025.
On June 2, 2025, the High Court upheld the death sentences of Pradeep and Liaqat and confirmed the life sentences imposed on six others. The signed full judgment was released in November 2025.
The High Court described different roles
In the full judgment, the High Court described Pradeep as the planner or mastermind and Liaqat as the officer who carried out the shooting. Those descriptions are judicial findings from the appellate judgment; Crime by Region does not independently expand them into allegations against people the court did not convict.
Further appeal rights remained
Reporting on the signed High Court judgment stated that the convicted defendants could pursue a further appeal within the prescribed period. In the sources reviewed for this update, no later public merits judgment of the Appellate Division was located that reversed, replaced or finally disposed of the convictions.
For that reason, the page is categorized as Partially Adjudicated rather than claiming a final appellate posture that has not been verified.
Timeline
July 31, 2020: Major Sinha is killed at the Shamlapur checkpoint on Marine Drive.
August 5, 2020: Sinha's sister files a murder case naming police officers and others.
January 31, 2022: the trial court sentences Pradeep Kumar Das and Liaqat Ali to death, six others to life imprisonment and acquits seven defendants.
April 23, 2025: the High Court begins hearing the death references and appeals.
June 2, 2025: the High Court upholds the two death sentences and six life terms.
November 20–23, 2025: the signed full judgment is released and reported publicly.
August 28, 2026: no later public Appellate Division merits judgment was located in the sources reviewed for this update.