Lawyer killed in clash over sending Chinmoy to jail

A trainee lawyer was killed and 25 others injured during a clash between followers of former ISKCON leader Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari and law enforcement agencies on the Chattogram court premises on Tuesday over sending Chinmoy to jail in a sedition case.

Saiful Islam Alif, 35, son of Jamal Uddin of Lohagara upazila in Chattogram, was taken to Chattogram Medical College Hospital where the duty doctor declared him dead.

The hospital’s duty doctor Nibedita Ghosh said that the lawyer was stabbed in his neck and head indiscriminately.

Chattogram Metropolitan Police additional deputy commissioner for media Kazi Md Tarek Aziz said that the trainee lawyer was critically injured in the clash on the Chattogram court premises at Laldighi.

‘We have deployed additional police members in the city,’ said Tarek.

Of the 25 inured, six were admitted to Chattogram Medical College Hospital and rest of the injured took treatment at Government General Hospital.

Interim government chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on the day condemned the lawyer’s murder in the port city, said a press release issued by his press wing in the evening.

He has ordered an investigation into the killing and appropriate legal course.

He has also urged people to keep calm and stay away from participating in any untoward activities. He has also ordered law enforcement agencies to step up security in the port city, including in all the vulnerable neighbourhoods.

‘The interim government is committed to ensuring and upholding communal harmony in Bangladesh at any cost,’ he added.

Local Government and Rural Development and Cooperatives adviser Asif Mahmud Sajeeb Bhuiyan also warned on the day that the government would take strict action for any seditious activities undermining the country’s sovereignty.

Addressing an emergency press conference at Dhakeshwari temple in Dhaka city in the evening of the day, Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagaran Jote general secretary Sumon Kumar Roy claimed that intruders sneaked in the peaceful protest of minorities pressing their eight-point demand.

‘Some intruders sneaked in the protest of minorities and lawyers and tried to incite a riot between the Hindus and the Muslims,’ Sumon Kumar Roy said.

The arrest of Chinmoy, also the spokesperson of Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, a platform of the Hindu community, has sparked protests in different areas, including Barishal and Feni, in the country.

Amid the highly tense situation, the Border Guard Bangladesh deployed 10 platoons, including six in Chattogram, and four in Dhaka. .

When produced in court, Chattogram metropolitan magistrate Kazi Shariful Islam denied bail of Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari and sent him to jail amid tight security.

The clash began when Chinmoy’s supporters staged a demonstration outside the court premises, chanting slogans, and blocked the prison van from about 12:30pm.

The police and BGB waited for about two hours till 2:15pm for the Chinmoy followers to clear out before charging batons and lobbing tear shells and sound grenades, forcing them to disperse.

Later on, Chinmoy was taken to jail.

Surrounded by his followers, Chinmoy through a hand-held microphone from inside the van urged calm and asked them to refrain from activities destabilising the state.

Court deputy commissioner for prosecution Humayun Kabir said, ‘We tried to defuse the tension peacefully, but ultimately had to intervene. Chinmoy Krishna was then safely transported to jail,’ he added.

Defence lawyer Swarup Kanti Nath said, ‘During the bail hearing, we argued that the case is baseless and a conspiracy. Chinmoy Krishna has not committed any anti-state activities. Despite this, the court denied bail but directed that he be afforded divisional status in prison.’

The sedition case against Chinmoy stems from a rally organised by Sanatani Jagran Jote at Chattogram’s Laldighi Maidan on October 25.

On October 30, a Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader in Chattogram, Firoz Khan, filed a sedition case against Chinmoy and 19 others with the Kotowali police.

New Age correspondent in Barishal reported that activists of Barishal branch of Sammilito Sanatani Jagoran Jote blocked Sadar Road in front of Ashwini Kumar Hall in the city and held a protest rally pressing for his unconditional release.

The protest caused severe traffic congestion in the city.

New Age Correspondent in Feni reported that members of the Hindu community held a protest procession and rally, demanding immediate release of Chinmoy.

Later in the evening, Dhaka University students and people from outside brought out a torch procession on the campus protesting at the lawyer’s killing.

New Age Jahangirnagar University correspondent reported that students demonstrated on the campus on Tuesday night, protesting at the lawyer’s killing.

On Monday afternoon, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Detective Branch arrested Chinmoy in the city’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport area.

Chinmoy Krishna, once a prominent figure in the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, ISKCON in short, was expelled from the organisation. He currently serves as the head of Pundarik Dham in Hathazari, Chattogram, and is the spokesperson of Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagaran Jote.

New Age