A lawyer was killed during a clash between police and followers of former ISKCON leader Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari in the Chattogram Court Building area today.
The deceased, 32-year-old Saiful Islam, is a member of Chattogram District Bar Association. He was taken to Chittagong Medical College Hospital, where the physicians pronounced him dead around 4:00pm, said Nurul Islam, in-charge of CMCH police camp.
Citing eyewitnesses, Nazim Uddin Chowdhury, president of Chattogram District Bar Association, told The Daily Star, “During the clash, a group of Chinmoy supporters who were protesting on the court premises dragged Saiful to Rangam Convention Hall around 3:30pm and hacked him.”
Mohammad Didar, an employee of Golam Rasul Market, who along with some other locals rescued Saiful and took him to the hospital, told The Daily Star, “Some Chinmoy followers hacked the lawyer on the road next to Rangam Convention Hall.”
At least 10 people, including journalists, were injured during the clash. Five of them took treatment at CMCH, reports our correspondent.
Earlier, Metropolitan Magistrate Kazi Shariful Islam sent Chinmoy, spokesperson of Sammilita Sanatani Jagaran Jote, to jail in a case on charges of disrespecting the national flag.
Immediately after the court’s order around 12:00pm, his followers burst into protests. They sought to block the movement of the prison van carrying Chinmoy, former divisional organising secretary of the Chattogram ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness).
Later, police and members of the Border Guard Bangladesh fired sound grenades and charged batons to clear the way for the van.
JAGARAN JOTE DENIES
Kanchan Acharjee, a central leader of the Sammilita Jagaran Jote, denied the involvement of their organisation in the violence and the killing of the lawyer in Chattogram.
He also demanded the authorities concerned carry out proper investigation into the killing and bring the culprits to book.
He said many from the Hindu community gathered on the Chattogram Court premises to demand Chinmoy’s release, and they were demonstrating peacefully.
But at one stage, they were attacked and dispersed from the area, he said adding that after some time they came to know from social media about the killing of the lawyer.
“We have no idea why he [the lawyer] was killed and who were involved … We want proper investigation into the killing,” he told The Daily Star over the phone.
Daily Star
