The court rejected the application of a lawyer from Dhaka who attempted to represent Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, spokesperson of the Bangladesh United Sanatan Awakening Platform.
The lawyer claimed he could not present his application due to opposition from other lawyers in court. However, the prosecution and bar association leaders stated that the application was dismissed because he did not have a power of attorney to represent the accused.
On Wednesday morning (December 11), lawyer Rabindra Ghosh submitted three applications on behalf of Chinmoy Krishna Das to the Chattogram Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court, presided over by Judge Md. Saiful Islam.
Assistant Public Prosecutor Md. Raihanul Wazed Chowdhury said, “The lawyer representing the accused did not have a power of attorney. He also did not present any written authorization from the primary lawyer of the case, Subhashish Sharma. Therefore, the court dismissed his application.”
Rabindra Ghosh, the applicant and Supreme Court lawyer as well as chairman of Bangladesh Minority Watch, stated, “I submitted three applications: one to represent Chinmoy Krishna Das in the case for which he was arrested, another for presenting documents of a miscellaneous case filed on November 26, and the third to expedite the hearing for Chinmoy Krishna Das’s bail.”
He added, “No local lawyers are able to represent Chinmoy Prabhu. The judge intended to allow my applications, but about 100 lawyers started shouting, claiming that I couldn’t represent the case as I lacked a power of attorney.”
Ghosh explained, “I’m a senior lawyer and signed the application myself. However, I didn’t anticipate such a chaotic situation here. This is a regrettable state of affairs. Thankfully, police officers were present to ensure my safety.”
Regarding the absence of a power of attorney, Ghosh said, “The lawyers previously representing Chinmoy Krishna Das are accused in the same case. Given the circumstances, how could they appear? Since the hearing didn’t proceed, we will move to a higher court.”
Meanwhile, Chattogram District Bar Association President Md. Nazim Uddin Chowdhury commented, “A lawyer from Dhaka came without a power of attorney or any written authorization from the accused’s original lawyer. Hence, the court rejected his application.”
After the hearing, a group of lawyers marched inside the court premises, chanting slogans like “Beware of ISKCON agents.”
When asked about the situation, Chattogram Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner (Kotwali) Md. Mahfuzur Rahman said, “A lawyer submitted an application which was dismissed by the court. These are legal matters of the court. We didn’t observe any processions or slogans.”
The next bail hearing is scheduled for January 2, following the absence of a lawyer for Chinmoy during the December 3 session.
Before the hearing, the Sanatan Jagaran Coalition alleged that cases were filed against 70 lawyers to prevent them from representing Chinmoy in court. They also reported attacks on the chambers of some lawyers.
On November 26, Chattogram’s Sixth Metropolitan Magistrate Kazi Shariful Islam denied Chinmoy Das’s bail and ordered him to jail in a sedition case. This led to protests around the prison van by members of the Sanatan community, which lasted for about two and a half hours before police dispersed the crowd using sound grenades.
Protesters vandalized several motorcycles and vehicles in the court area, prompting a chase and counter-chase with court employees and lawyers. Amidst this chaos, lawyer Saiful Islam Alif was killed near the Rangam Convention Hall.
Following the denial of bail, Chinmoy Das’s lawyers appealed the decision and submitted another bail petition, but it could not be heard the same day.
Chinmoy Krishna Das, head of the ISKCON-managed Pundarik Dham temple in Chattogram, had been advocating for minority rights in Bangladesh. His eight-point demand protests followed a wave of attacks on minorities nationwide after the fall of the Awami League government on August 5.
On October 30, a sedition case was filed against 19 individuals, including Chinmoy Das, after a public rally on October 25 at Laldighi field, Chattogram.
He was arrested on November 25 from Dhaka’s Shahjalal International Airport in connection with the sedition case. Protests broke out across Bangladesh that night in Dhaka, Chattogram, Cumilla, Khulna, Dinajpur, and Cox’s Bazar.
On November 26, violence erupted in the Chattogram court area, leading to three police-filed cases against 76 named individuals and 1,400 unidentified individuals. Additionally, a murder case was filed against 31 people for lawyer Alif’s death, and another case for vehicle vandalism involved 116 accused.
The Chattogram District Bar Association called for a boycott and work stoppage on November 27-28, urging its members not to represent the accused in related cases.