Lawyer killed in police clash with Chinmoy followers | Chinmoy supporters clash with police officers in Ctg; lawyer killed

Yesterday, a lawyer was killed in the Chattogram Court area and 10 other people, including several journalists, were injured.

The clashes began shortly before noon after the court sent him to prison, rejecting his bail application in a sedition case.

The deceased, 32-year-old Saiful Islam, was a member of the Chattogram District Bar Association. Doctors at Chittagong Medical College Hospital declared him dead around 4 p.m., said Nurul Islam, CMCH police station commander.

Citing eyewitnesses, Nazim Uddin Chowdhury, president of the Chattogram District Bar Association, told The Daily Star: “During the clash, some of Chinmoy’s supporters dragged Saiful to the Rangam conference hall around 3.30 p.m. and attacked him with sharp weapons.”

Mohammad Didar, an employee of Golam Rasul Market, who along with some other residents rescued Saiful and took him to hospital, said: “Some Chinmoy supporters broke into the lawyer’s house on the road next to Rangam Convention Hall.”

Chinmoy, a spokesman for Sammility Sanatani Jagaran Jote, was arrested on the premises of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on Monday afternoon.

On October 31, a case was filed against him and 18 others in Chattogram on charges of disrespecting the national flag.

Kanchan Acharjee, central leader of Jagaran Jote, said his organization was not involved in the violence on the court premises, adding that those who murdered the lawyer should be held accountable.

He said many people from the Hindu community gathered at the court premises and demonstrated peacefully for Chinmoy’s release.

However, he said law enforcers attacked and dispersed them, adding that the news of the lawyer’s death came later.

“We have no idea who killed him,” Kanchan said.

Deposit rejected, dispute

Earlier in the day, Metropolitan Magistrate Kazi Shariful Islam sent Chinmoy to prison.

The leader was brought before the court around 10:30 am. After over an hour of hearing, the court rejected the bail application.

According to the court’s order, Chinmoy’s lawyers and supporters broke out in protests outside the courtroom and obstructed the movement of a prison van after police placed Chinmoy in the vehicle to transport him to prison.

Senior police officials asked protesters to clear the road, but they refused to comply.

Chinmoy could be heard from inside the bus urging his supporters to remain calm.

“We are not against the state and the government. We, Sanatani, are part of the state…. We will not do anything that could destabilize the state and destroy peaceful coexistence. We will conduct a peaceful protest by controlling our emotions and turning them into strength,” he said.

At 2:50 p.m., members of the BGB and police fired several stun grenades and charged batons to disperse the demonstrators. Chinmoy’s supporters threw flower pots and pieces of bricks at the police.

Police had to take Chinmoy to jail in another vehicle because the bus’s tire was punctured, said CMP deputy commissioner Rais Uddin.

According to police and eyewitnesses, protesters vandalized several private vehicles and motorcycles during the incident.

In addition, a lawyer’s office on the ground floor of the Masjid Building complex was vandalized.

The Chattogram District Bar Association has announced that lawyers will abstain from court activities today in protest against Saiful’s murder, Nazim Uddin Chowdhury said.

Of the injured, five were under the care of CMCH.

Witnesses said that as a protest against the chaos and vandalism in the Masjid complex room, a group of lawyers staged demonstrations on the main road and threw bricks at Chinmoy’s supporters who had taken shelter on various roadsides, further raising tensions around 4 p.m.

Later, the police brought the situation under control.

Swarup Kanti Dey, a lawyer at the Chattogram court, said police attacked peaceful protesters with batons, which was unexpected.

Chinmoy arrested for sedition: ASIF

Local government adviser Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan said yesterday that Chinmoy was arrested on charges of sedition and not as a leader of any community.

“The government will take stringent action against any act of sedition that threatens the sovereignty and independence of Bangladesh. Let it be clear to everyone: no one, regardless of their position and influence, will be spared if they are involved in such activities,” he said. during the event.

Interior Advisor Lt. Gen. (retd.) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said internal and external influences could be behind ISKCON’s problems.

“Many parties with particular interests may be behind this scenario. Moreover, parties that are banned in the country may be involved in this situation. No matter who, strict action will be taken in this matter,” he told reporters after meeting government officials in Sylhet.

ATTACKS, PROTESTS

Kanchan Acharjee, leader of Jagaran Jote, said a temple in Firingibazar in the city was vandalized after the killing.

In the evening at the Dhakeshwari temple in the capital, Jote told a news conference that law enforcement should review CCTV footage to identify the attackers.

Sumon Kumar Roy, one of the leaders, claimed that Jagaran Jote came to know that the attackers mistook Saiful for a Hindu.

He added that Chattogram has reported attacks on several Hindu temples and Hindu lawyers’ chambers.

Earlier in the day, Jagaran Jote demonstrated in Thakurgaon and Dinajpur and condemned the court’s decision to reject his bail application.

Meanwhile, the Minority Rights Movement canceled a rally to demonstrate Chinmoy’s arrest. The organization’s leaders said they could not conduct the program in front of the Shahbagh National Museum due to security reasons.