Lawyer Alif murder: Court accepts charges against Chinmoy, 38 others

A Chattogram court today accepted the charge sheet against 39 people in connection with the murder case of lawyer Saiful Islam Alif, who was hacked to death on November 26 last year.

Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, a former ISKCON leader, was among the 39 accused.

The court of Metropolitan Magistrate SM Alauddin Mahmud accepted the charge sheet, said Assistant Public Prosecutor Raihanul Wazed Chowdhury.

Lawyer Raihanul told The Daily Star that police on July 1 pressed the charges accusing 38 people but later added another name, Sukanta Dutta, in the charge sheet as they found evidence of his involvement.

Chinmoy -- also the spokesperson for Sammilita Sanatani Jagaran Jote -- was shown arrested in the Alif murder case by a court on May 5 following a police application.

On October 31 last year, Firoz Khan, former general secretary of Chattogram's Mohora ward unit of BNP, filed a case with Kotwali Police Station, accusing Chinmoy and 18 others of disrespecting the national flag during a rally of the Hindu community on October 25 in the port city's New Market area.

Chinmoy was sent to jail after a Chattogram court rejected his bail petition in the sedition case on November 26 last year.

Following his bail rejection, his supporters blocked a police prison van on its way to jail and staged a demonstration demanding Chinmoy's immediate release. Police later charged batons to disperse them, triggering a clash in the court building area that afternoon.

Alif, a lawyer of the Chattogram Court, was brutally beaten and hacked to death outside the court premises during a clash involving Chinmoy's supporters, police, and a group of lawyers.