Bangladesh court orders jail-gate interrogation of Hindu monk Chinmoy Das
Dhaka: A Chattogram court has granted police permission to interrogate Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, former ISKCON leader and spokesperson of the Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagaran Jote, in a high-profile case involving attacks on police, violence at a mosque, and unrest inside court premises. The order was issued on Monday (June 16) by Chattogram Metropolitan Magistrate SM Alauddin, following a petition filed by police. According to Assistant Public Prosecutor Md Raihanul Wazed Chowdhury, Chinmoy was not initially named in the case, but a subsequent investigation revealed his alleged involvement. Based on the findings, the court also approved a request to officially show him as arrested in the case.
The investigating officer, Assistant Commissioner of the Chattogram Detective Branch, Mostafa Kamal, then filed a petition to interrogate Chinmoy at the prison gate, which the court allowed for one day. This case is the latest addition to a series of serious charges against Chinmoy Das. He is already implicated in four other cases, including sedition and the murder of lawyer Saiful Islam Alif. The sedition case was registered at the Kotwali Police Station in Chattogram.
Chinmoy was arrested on the night of November 25 last year by the Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka. The following day, he was produced before a Chattogram court, which sent him to jail. The court appearance triggered chaos as Chinmoy’s supporters clashed with law enforcement on court premises. They detained the prison van carrying him for nearly three hours. Police and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel used batons and sound grenades to disperse the mob, leading to violent clashes that spread from Laldighi Par to the Kotwali area in Chattogram.
During the clashes, lawyer Saiful Islam Alif was brutally hacked to death in front of the Rangam Convention Hall. The violence led to five separate cases being filed at the Kotwali Police Station, involving charges of murder, assault on law enforcement, vandalism, obstruction of government work, and the use of explosives. Chinmoy Das has since been arrested in all five cases, including the one related to the murder of the lawyer.
