Lawyer Killed In Clash Over Chinmoy’s Jail Order

Advocate Saiful Islam Alif was killed Tuesday when followers of controversial Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari clashed with law enforcers at a Chattogram court demanding his release.

The incident took place at the Laldighi area of ​​Kotwali police station in the city on Tuesday (November 26) afternoon. The deceased Saiful Islam Alif is the son of Jamal Uddin of Lohagara Upazila.

Witnesses, including Advocate Mokter Uddin Sagar, said unidentified miscreants took Advocate Saiful to the ground floor of the court, beat him up, and ultimately hacked him to death.

In total, 26 people were injured as Hindu protesters rampaged on the court premises and nearby areas. Six were undergoing treatment at CMCH, while 19 others were admitted to the Chattogram General Hospital.

Earlier on Tuesday, Chattogram Metropolitan Magistrate Kazi Shariful Islam denied bail for Chinmoy and sent him to jail in a sedition case filed over his alleged act of disrespecting the national flag.

Immediately after the jail order, Chinmoy’s supporters took to the streets trying to prevent a prison van from taking him to the jail. Due to the protest, the prison van could not move out of the court premises even after three hours. At one point, police and BGB personnel fired sound grenades to disperse the Hindu protesters, leading to a clash.

The protesters went berserk in the Laldighi and Kotwali areas vandalising vehicles and buildings, confirmed Kotwali Police Station Officer-in-Charge Fazlul Qader.

Locals said the agitators also broke windows of the central mosque of the court, prompting mosque-goers to join police in chasing them out. Five cars of lawyers and ten cars were also vandalised in the incident. 

At one point, Saiful Islam was found with injuries and taken to the Chattogram Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.