A Chattogram court has denied bail to Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, a former ISKCON leader, during a hearing held under tight security today.
Chattogram Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Saiful Islam rejected the bail plea after hearing arguments from both sides for around 30 minutes.
Following the hearing, Chinmoy’s lawyer, Apurba Kumar Bhattacharjee, told they plan to appeal to the High Court for bail.
Around 11:40 am, 11 Supreme Court lawyers, led by Apurba, departed from the court premises in two microbuses under police escort. Earlier in the day, they arrived at the court around 10:15 am to represent Chinmoy in the high-profile case. Despite their efforts, the court’s decision went against their plea.
Chinmoy Krishna Das was not present in court today.
Chinmoy, also known as Chandan Kumar Dhar, is the spokesperson for the Sammilita Sanatani Jagaran Jote. He, along with 18 others, was sued by a BNP leader on October 31 for allegedly disrespecting Bangladesh’s national flag during a Hindu community rally in Chattogram’s New Market area on October 25.
Police arrested Chinmoy a month later and produced him before a Chattogram court, which denied him bail and sent him to jail. His arrest sparked protests, during which supporters clashed with law enforcement and lawyers outside the court. Tragically, lawyer Saiful was beaten and hacked to death during the violence.
According to court sources, lawyer Suvasish Sharma submitted a Vakalatnama on November 26 to represent Chinmoy. A Vakalatnama is a document authorizing a lawyer to act on behalf of their client. Despite repeated attempts, Suvasish could not be reached to confirm if he would represent Chinmoy again on January 2.
On December 3, no lawyer appeared to represent Chinmoy during his bail hearing. Senior lawyer Rabindra Ghosh from Dhaka later filed an application to advance the date for Chinmoy’s bail hearing. However, on December 11, the court rejected the application due to the absence of a Vakalatnama.