ZYMA ISLAM

The verdict in the Major (retd) Sinha murder case was not just a victory for his family, but for all the families who have lost their loved ones to “crossfires” in the hands of Teknaf police.

Sinha’s elder sister Sharmin Shahria Ferdush said this while talking to The Daily Star yesterday.

“Every time I was in court, families of other victims would be there. I was demanding justice for my brother but every time I felt I was fighting for them too… They are so vulnerable, so marginalised.

“I understood them and they understood me. They too lost a brother, a father or a son. If I am victorious, they will be too.”

She said it is unacceptable how extrajudicial killings are passed off as “crossfires”.

“If the person is guilty then make him face the court. The court must decide the crime, not an individual.

“It would have been easier to have Pradeep and Liaqat get ‘crossfired’, but I did not want the easy way out. My strength was honesty. To deal with the ultimate evil, you have to be the ultimate good,” Sharmin said.

Officer-in-charge Pradeep Kumar Das was the former head of Teknaf police and the one who ordered Sinha’s murder, while Inspector Liaqat Ali, who headed Baharchhara investigation centre, shot the fatal bullets.

She went on to say that in spite of the facts, they were unsure till the last moment whether Pradeep would be handed capital punishment.

“Sinha lived with a purpose and died with a purpose. Perhaps that purpose was to give the people of Teknaf the justice they deserved.”

His family had been pursuing a campaign demanding justice for Sinha and one of the social media hashtags they used was #stopextrajudicialkilling.