Bangladesh sentences two cops to death over murder of ex-army major

DhakaTwo former police officers were sentenced to death for shooting a retired army major dead in the southern Bangladeshi district of Cox’s Bazar in 2020, court officials said on Monday.The district court judge announced the verdict against Pradip Kumar, chief of a local police station, and his associate Liakat Ali, for murdering Sinha Mohammad Rashed on the night of July 31, 2020, near the south-eastern tourist town."The murder was pre-planned,” prosecutor Ekramul Huda said, citing the judge’s observation in court.Police department fired the officers after they were accused in the murder.  Six others were given life in prison for their roles in the murder.The court acquitted seven people as their involvement could not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt, said Mohammad Zakaria, a defence lawyer.    Rashed, 36, who went into voluntary retirement nearly four years ago from the army’s Special Security Force that guards the country’s prime minister, was shot dead at a checkpoint in Cox’s Bazar. (DPA)