A Cox's Bazaar court has granted bail to Shahadul Islam Sefat, an associate of slain ex- Major Sinha Md. Rashed Khan in two cases on Monday (August 10).
Senior Judicial Magistrate Tamanna Farah issued the order of bail in the sensitive case.
Sefat was released at 2.05 pm after the bail order reached the jail, learnt from jail source. The court has also tasked the Rapid Action Battalion with the investigation of the cases, Sefat's lawyer Mohammed Mostafa said.
Earlier, Shipra Debnath, who was also a part of the documentary film crew led by Sinha, was released from jail after being granted bail by a court on Sunday.
The student of Stamford University will remain free on bail until the submission of the investigation report.
The court also heard Sefat's bail petition on Sunday but the judge fixed the next day to issue a verdict on the matter.
Police shot and killed Sinha at a checkpoint in Shamlapur along the Cox's Bazar-Teknaf Marine Drive on the night of July 31. Sefat and Shipra, both students of Stamford University's Film and Media Department, were accompanying him.
Sinha, 36, was a member of the Special Security Force, tasked with guarding the prime minister. His late father Ershad Khan was a deputy secretary at the finance ministry.
The former army officer and the other members of the crew had been staying at Nilima Resort in Himchhari for around a month to film a travel documentary 'Just Go'.
After killing Sinha, police said they fired in self-defence when he brandished a pistol after obstructing a search of his vehicle at the checkpoint.
They also said they seized drugs from the vehicle and detained Sefat and Shipra. Two cases have been initiated over the incident.
But the police account has been greeted with disbelief and there was doubt over whether Sinha had indeed pointed the gun at the policemen.
The home ministry has formed a high-level committee to investigate the incident.
The family of Sinha has started a case against nine policemen, including two inspectors, on charges of murdering him.
Police have withdrawn seven officials, including Pradip Kumar Das, chief of Teknaf Police Station and sub-Inspector Liakat Ali, in-charge of Baharchhara investigation centre.
The seven are behind bars in the murder case while two other accused are on the run.