Dhaka, May 5: Prominent Hindu leader and spokesperson for the Bangladesh Sammilito Sanatani Jagaran Jot, Chinmoy Krishna Das, was shown arrested on charges of the murder of Chittagong court lawyer Saiful Islam Alif by a local court on Monday. The lawyer was allegedly hacked to death outside the court premises on November 7 last year.
Chittagong’s Metropolitan Magistrate S M Alauddin granted the police application for Das’ arrest and passed the order during a virtual hearing.
“Investigating officers submitted applications on Sunday to show Chinmoy Krishna Das was arrested in four cases. The court on Monday granted shown arrest in the Alif murder case following a virtual hearing. The hearings on the other three applications will be held on Tuesday,” Dhaka Tribune quoted Public Prosecutor of the Chittagong Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court, Mofizul Haque Bhuiyan as saying.
Earlier on April 30, the Appellate Division of the Bangladesh Supreme Court stayed the High Court order of granting bail to Das in a sedition case.
Judge of the Appellate Division, Justice Rezaul Haque passed the order after hearing an appeal filed by the state counsel hours after the High Court granted him bail.
The stay order remains in force until the filing of a leave-to-appeal petition and release of the full text of the verdict.
The Bangladesh High Court had earlier granted bail to Das, who was arrested on November 25 last year on charges of sedition, linked to alleged disrespect of the national flag during a rally in Chittagong. His arrest had sparked widespread outrage across the world. Chinmoy was arrested in Dhaka on November 25 and sent to jail the following day after a Chittagong court rejected his bail plea. On December 11, 2024, the same court again refused bail in the case. (IANS)
