Police seek shown arrest of Chinmoy Das in lawyer murder and three other cases

Police have requested the court to show Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, a former ISKCON leader currently in jail, as arrested in four separate cases—including the murder of lawyer Saiful Islam in Chattogram.

Chattogram Metropolitan Magistrate Court received the police’s application for shown arrest in these cases on Sunday, May 5.

Chattogram Metropolitan Police’s Additional Deputy Commissioner (Prosecution) Mofiz Uddin said, “The investigating officer of a murder case filed at Kotwali Police Station has applied for Chinmoy Das to be shown arrested. A virtual hearing on this application will be held on Monday.”

He added that apart from the murder case, three other cases involve charges of obstructing police work and attacking lawyers and litigants. Hearings for these cases will be held virtually on Tuesday.

The murder happened on November 26, 2023, during a court appearance of Chinmoy Das. Violence broke out in the court premises, and lawyer Saiful Islam was beaten and hacked to death. His father, Jamal Uddin, filed a murder case with Kotwali Police Station naming 31 people.

In total, six cases were filed over the incident—including charges of assault on police, disrupting government work, attacking lawyers and court users, and exploding crude bombs. So far, 51 people have been arrested. Among them, 21 are accused of involvement in the murder.

According to court sources, three accused—Chandan Das, Ripon Das, and Rajib Bhattacharya—have confessed before the court. They stated that Ripon attacked Saiful with a cleaver, Chandan used a machete, and about 15–20 others beat him to death.

Additionally, Chinmoy Das is facing a sedition case. BNP leader Firoz Khan filed a case against him on October 31, 2023, , alleging desecration of the national flag.

Chinmoy was arrested in Dhaka on November 25 in connection with that case. Though he was later granted bail by the High Court, the state appealed to suspend that bail. A hearing was scheduled for Sunday in the Supreme Court’s Chamber Court, but it was postponed due to the death of senior lawyer M.I. Faruqui.