Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) today pressed charges against 15 people -- including former officer-in-charge of Teknaf Police Station Pradeep Kumar Das -- in the Major (retd) Sinha Rashed Khan murder case.

Senior ASP of Rab Mohammad Khairul Islam, also the investigation officer (IO) of the case, submitted the charge sheet before Judge Tamanna Farah of Cox's Bazar Senior Judicial Magistrate Court-4 through the court inspector at 10:10am.

After a brief hearing, the court accepted the charge sheet. 

Lt Col Ashiq Billah, director of Rab's legal and media wing, briefed journalists in this regard at a press conference held at the elite force's media centre in the capital today.

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The other charge-sheeted accused included Baharchhara Investigation Centre's Inspector Liaqat Ali,  Sub-inspector Nandadulal Rakshit and constables Safanur Karim, Abdullah Al Mamun and Mohammad Mostafa; Armed Police Battalion's Sub-inspector Mohammad Shahjahan and constables Md Rajib and Mohammad Abdullah; Teknaf Police Station's constables Rubel Sharma and Sagar Deb; and three villagers of Maroshbunia village -- Nurul Amin, Mohammad Ayaz and Nejamuddin.

Among the 15 accused, Pradeep is now in Chattogram district jail, 13 are in Cox's Bazar jail while Constable Sagar Deb is on the run. 

Superintendent of Police in Cox's Bazar ABM Masud Hossain, however, was not formally indicted. 

"The investigation officer recommended that departmental action be taken against him [SP Masud]," said Lt Col Ashiq Billah.

"The officer found him to be negligent in his duties and unprofessional in his conduct. He did not visit the spot when Pradeep called him to report Sinha's death, which he should have. He also looked the other way while Pradeep carried out his activities in Teknaf," the Rab official said.

Sinha was killed at an APBn check-post on the Cox's Bazar-Teknaf highway on July 31.

Local police said Inspector Liaqat's team had taken over the check-post from the three APBn officers before the incident happened.

Right after the incident of Major (retd) Sinha's murder, a phone call had allegedly taken place between OC Pradeep and SP Masud, that later got leaked on social media.

In the phone call, Pradeep was heard telling SP Masud that an army major was killed in an encounter.

On September 16, the home ministry transferred SP ABM Masud to Rajshahi.

Sharmin Shahriar Ferdous, elder sister of Major (retd) Sinha Md Rashed Khan, sought to make SP ABM Masud Hossain an accused in the murder case, but a court later denied her request.