Government reconstitutes committee to probe police killing of ex-army major

The government has reconstituted the committee with a joint secretary-level official at the helm to investigate police shooting death former army major Sinha Md Rashed Khan at a checkpoint in Cox’s Bazar.

The home ministry on Sunday made Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, Chattogram Division additional commissioner for development, the head of the panel.

The general officer commanding or GOC of the army’s 10th Infantry Division and the area commander of Cox’s Bazar will select a representative for the committee who will be an Armed Forces Division official working at the Prime Minister’s Office.

A representative of the deputy inspector general of police in Chattogram Range will work as a member of the committee.

Md Shajahan Ali, the Cox’s Bazar additional district magistrate who had been the chief of the committee, has also been kept as a member.

The committee will investigate the reason behind the incident and the events that led to it. It will also make recommendations to prevent a recurrence.

Rashed, 36, had worked at the Special Security Force and retired two years ago.

His father late Ershad Khan was a deputy secretary at the finance ministry.

The former army officer had been staying at Nilima Resort in Himchhari with three others for around a month to shoot a travel documentary.

After his death on Jul 31 night, police said they fired in self-defence when he brandished a pistol after obstructing a search of his vehicle at the checkpoint at Shamlapur along the Cox's Bazar-Teknaf Marine Drive.

They also said they seized drugs from the vehicle, and detained a person from the scene and another from the resort. Two cases have been initiated over the incident.

But the police account was greeted with disbelief and there was doubt over whether Rashed has indeed pointed the gun at the policemen.

There were allegations that the members of the law-enforcing agency were late in taking him to hospital.

With these questions hanging heavy in the air, the home ministry’s Public Security Division announced the investigation committee on Saturday.

The police also withdrew 20 of their members, including Liakat Ali, the officer-in-charge of Baharchhara investigation centre, “to ensure fair investigation” into Rashed’s killing.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on Sunday declined comment on the incident before the conclusion of the investigation.

If someone is found guilty, they will face action, he told reporters at his home.