We welcome the rigorous investigation by RAB and the home ministry that has revealed the details of the premeditated murder of Major (retd) Sinha Rashed Khan. It was spearheaded by Teknaf Police Station OC Pradeep Kumar Das who, aided by some of his colleagues, masterminded this heinous crime to hide his own involvement in a drug trade which was about to be exposed by Major Sinha. The investigation has revealed that OC Pradeep threatened to "destroy" Sinha if he did not leave the area, that Sinha was stopped at a police checkpoint on Cox's Bazar-Teknaf highway on July 31. According to witnesses, when he came out of the car with his hands over his head, they shot him. The home ministry probe has established that Sinha was alive when OC Pradeep came to the spot but they delayed taking him to the hospital. He thus bled to his death while the accused concocted a story about searching his car for narcotics when he "pointed" a gun at them and they shot him in self-defence. Subsequently, two of Sinha's associates were arrested on false narcotics charges and all their and Sinha's electronic devices were seized. Later, when RAB recovered the devices, they were found tampered with and the memory cards were destroyed.

While we find relief in finally knowing the truth and the fact that OC Pradeep and most of his cohorts have been arrested, we are also shocked at the extent of criminality of an OC and the impunity he has enjoyed over the years. Since Pradeep's taking charge of Teknaf police station in 2018, at least 87 people have been killed in 48 gunfights. A RAB source has said that Sinha had found out that OC Pradeep was involved in a cross-border drug trade that generated Tk 50 lakh daily. His murder has exposed the level of corruption among those occupying the highest positions of the police force in Teknaf and the complicity of lower-ranking officers that has led to not only the death of Major Sinha but many other individuals. It is well-known that the drug trade flourishes with the help of such corrupt law enforcers who have abandoned their mandate to protect the public in exchange for the huge amounts of money they can make. Thus the credibility of narcotics drives and arrests or deaths of so-called drug traders in "crossfire" is called into question. Unfortunately, these incidents have only added to the people's fear and mistrust of law enforcers.

Reports of police personnel being involved in filing false cases, extortion, evidence tampering, murder, and refusing to file genuine cases have been frequent. It is unfortunate that the good work that police do becomes overshadowed by these instances of criminality and moral degradation of some members of the law enforcement agencies. The police force must sincerely and thoroughly investigate allegations of crime against members of their organisation. In addition, there have to be independent investigations by the home ministry, as has been the case in Major Sinha's murder, to ensure that they are unbiased and uninfluenced.

It is crucial that the public regain their trust and confidence in police and all other law enforcement agencies. But for that to happen, corrupt and criminally minded public officials must be held accountable and, if found guilty of crimes, be punished by the law. The entrenched system of corruption in these organisations has to be wiped out for good.