TDS Desk

Lawyer Rabindra Ghosh, who came from Dhaka to represent Bangladesh Sammilito Sanatani Jagaran Jote spokesman Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari in Chattogram, has once again submitted an application for the court to hear a bail application.

He submitted this application to Chattogram Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Saiful Islam on Thursday afternoon.

Earlier, lawyer Rabindra came to the court amid tight security in the area.

When he left after submitting the application, Chattogram District Bar Association President Nazim Uddin Chowdhury and other lawyers accompanied him.

After submitting the petition, Rabindra said: “I came yesterday too. Unfortunately, a hearing was not held yesterday. Today [the judge] accepted [the petition]. He will hear me out.”

“Chinmoy Prabhu and some other lawyers are involved in a criminal case. His lawyers who were here have also been accused in a criminal case. Since they are unable to come, I have come to help them.”

When asked why Chinmoy’s lawyers are not coming to court and whether he has spoken to them or not, he said: “I have spoken to them. The cases that have been filed against them… they are not coming out of fear.”

Commenting on the atmosphere of the court on Thursday as ‘very good’ and security as ‘good’, he said: “I especially have to thank the president of the bar [association]. He took me with him. He said, ‘Come on, I will stay with you, the others will not say anything.’ The police have been helping me throughout it all.”

When asked about the murder of lawyer Saiful Islam Alif, Rabindra said: “I strongly condemn it. Killing a lawyer like this on the street! It is reprehensible and deserving of punishment. Of course I want exemplary punishment for it.”

Chattogram District Bar Association President Nazim said: “He came from Dhaka to handle the case. I have come to support him. An advocate has come to our bar. We are ready to provide him with whatever security or support he needs.”

“He will face this case legally. Today, he presented an application. His letter of attorney was from the Supreme Court bar. The court said, ‘If any lawyer gives me a letter of attorney this time, I will hold a hearing.’ That is the situation for now.”

An hour later, Rabindra went to the court again.

On Wednesday, three applications filed by the lawyer were rejected at the same court.

The state and the leaders of the Bar Association said that the court rejected the application of lawyer Rabindra on behalf of Chinmoy on Wednesday as he did not have any letter of attorney.

Rabindra claimed that it was not possible for the hearing to be held due to the obstruction of the lawyers in the court.

The three applications included permission to represent Chinmoy in the case over which he was arrested, the second requested access to records from a case filed on Nov 26 and the third sought to bring forward the date of the bail hearing.

The Bangladesh Sammilito Sanatani Jagaran Jote says that lawyers were being blocked from representing Chinmoy in court.

Though the Chattogram District Bar Association denied the claim, it admitted that it had urged members to not take part in the case’s hearings.

President Nizam had said there was no bar on lawyers from outside the district taking part in the hearings.

On Dec 3, when no lawyer stood to represent Chinmoy, the bail hearing was deferred to Jan 2.

Ahead of the hearing, the United Hindu Awakening Alliance alleged that cases were filed against 70 lawyers to prevent them from representing Chinmoy in court. They also claimed that some lawyers’ chambers had been attacked.

On Nov 26, Chattogram’s 6th Metropolitan Magistrate Kazi Shariful Islam rejected Chinmoy’s bail application in the sedition case and sent him to jail.

The decision angered members of the Hindu community, who staged a protest around the prison van for Chinmoy outside the court.

The protest lasted for around two and a half hours before police used stun grenades to disperse the crowd before taking Chinmoy, spokesman of Bangladesh Sammilito Sanatani Jagaran Jote, into custody.

During the protest, several motorcycles and vehicles on Court Road were damaged, as glass shards littered the second floor of the Court Mosque Complex, where lawyers’ chambers are located.

After about two and a half hours, police used sound grenades to disperse the protesters and took Chinmoy into custody.

During the protest, several motorcycles and vehicles parked on the court road were damaged. A scuffle also broke out between lawyers and protesters. In the ensuing chaos, lawyer Saiful Islam Alif was killed on the Rangam Convention Hall road.

After Chinmoy was denied bail, his lawyers immediately filed a revision petition, seeking another hearing. However, no hearing took place that day.

Chinmoy, head of the ISKCON-run Pundarik Dham Temple in Chattogram, had been speaking out against attacks on minorities across the country since Aug 5, calling for eight specific demands.

Following a public rally at Chattogram’s Laldighi Maidan on Oct 25, a sedition case was filed on Oct 30 against Chinmoy and 18 others at Kotwali Police Station.

Chinmoy was arrested at Dhaka’s Shahjalal International Airport on Nov 25 in connection with the sedition case.

The news of his arrest sparked protests across several districts, including Dhaka, Chattogram, Cumilla, Khulna, Dinajpur, and Cox’s Bazar, which continued late into the night of Nov 25.

Chinmoy was transported from Dhaka to Chattogram that evening and sent to jail the following day after a court appearance.