Witnesses in a case over the murder of retired army major Sinha Md Rashed Khan have begun to testify in a Cox’s Bazar court, with proceedings set to continue until Aug 25.

As many as 15 witnesses of the 83 have been summoned to the court, reports bdnews24.com.

District and Sessions Judge Mohammad Ismail was presiding over the proceedings that opened at 9.45 am on Monday, said Faridul Alam, the public prosecutor of Cox’s Bazar Court.

The legal procedure began with a statement from plaintiff Sharmin Shahriar Ferdous, sister of Sinha, who was shot dead in 2020.

The opening of the hearing originally set for Jul 26 was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. Later, the court changed the date to Aug 23.

Sinha, 36, was a member of the Special Security Force tasked with guarding Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. He had gone into early retirement to pursue his interests. His father late Ershad Khan was a deputy secretary at the finance ministry.

Sinha was shot dead by the police at a checkpoint on the Cox's Bazar-Teknaf Marine Drive on the night of Jul 31 last year.

The former army officer had been staying at Nilima Resort in Himchhari of Cox’s Bazar with three others for around a month to film a travel documentary.

After his death, the police said they fired in self-defence when Sinha brandished a pistol at law enforcers after obstructing a search of his vehicle at the checkpoint.