Zakir Hossain / Dhaka
A Bangladesh court has ordered fresh arrests in multiple cases against former ISKCON leader and prominent Hindu monk Chandan Kumar Dhar alias Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, who is currently in jail over sedition charges. The new arrest orders relate to four additional cases, including the high-profile murder of advocate Saiful Islam Alif.
On Tuesday morning, the 6th Court of Metropolitan Magistrate SM Alauddin Mahmud in Chattogram issued the orders during a virtual hearing in which Chinmoy Das participated from jail. The court accepted applications submitted by investigating officers seeking to show him arrested in four separate cases involving obstruction of police duties, vandalism, and attacks on lawyers and civilians.
Assistant Public Prosecutor Md Raihanul Wazed Chowdhury confirmed the court’s orders. “The court has shown Chinmoy Das arrested in all four cases, including the one filed for obstructing police and attacking justice seekers,” he said.
Security was tightened at the Chattogram court premises and in front of the Chattogram Central Jail from early Tuesday amid anticipation of the hearing. Due to security concerns, Chinmoy Das was not produced in person and attended the proceedings virtually.
Chinmoy is the spokesperson for the Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagaran Jote and was arrested by a Detective Branch (DB) team of Dhaka Metropolitan Police on November 26 last year from Dhaka Airport. He was presented before a Chattogram court the next day, which sent him to jail after rejecting his bail petition in a sedition case filed over the alleged desecration of the national flag during a rally.
The sedition case was filed by Firoz Khan, then a BNP leader in Chattogram’s Chandgaon Mohra ward, on October 31 last year. Following his controversial complaint, Firoz was later expelled from the BNP. Defence counsel Apurba Kumar Bhattacharya maintained that the sedition allegation is “baseless, as it was not a national flag” being displayed at the rally.
The arrest of Chinmoy sparked violent protests outside the Chattogram court on November 26. His supporters clashed with police and opposing groups, halted the prison van for hours, and vandalised vehicles and court property. Amid the chaos, lawyer Saiful Islam Alif was brutally beaten and hacked to death in a triangular clash involving Chinmoy’s followers, police, and counter-protesters.
Following the incident, police filed three separate cases over vandalism and obstruction of law enforcement duties, naming 79 individuals and accusing around 1,400 unnamed persons. Alif’s father later filed a murder case against 31 people, while his brother, Khan-e-Alam, filed another complaint naming 115 individuals — including 70 lawyers— for acts of vandalism.
In connection with the murder of advocate Alif, the same Chattogram court on Monday ordered Chinmoy to be shown arrested. Court sources confirmed that the investigating officer of the murder case submitted the petition linking Chinmoy to the killing, which the court accepted.
While the Chattogram Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court had earlier rejected his bail plea on January 2, Chinmoy’s legal team moved to the High Court, which issued a rule on February 4 asking why he should not be granted bail. After a final hearing, the High Court granted him bail on April 30, making the rule absolute. However, the state quickly filed a petition with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. On Tuesday, chamber judge Justice Md Rezaul Haque stayed the High Court’s bail order until a regular leave-to-appeal petition is filed following publication of the full text of the judgment.
“The chamber court has stayed the High Court verdict until further review,” said Additional Attorney General Anik R Haque, who represented the state. Lawyers ZI Khan Panna, MK Rahman, and Apurba Kumar Bhattacharya represented Chinmoy.