Court denies bail to 11 accused in lawyer Alif murder case in Chattogram
The order was passed by Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Shahriar Hasan
A Chattogram court today (10 April) rejected the bail petitions of 11 individuals accused in the brutal murder of lawyer Saiful Islam Alif, who was killed during a protest in support of the spokesperson of Sammilita Sanatani Jagaroni Jote Chinmoy Krishna Das.
The order was passed by Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Shahriar Hasan, according to a press release issued by Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP) Additional Deputy Commissioner (PR) Mahmuda Begum.
The accused are: Prem Nandan Das (19), Ranab Das (24), Bidhan Das (29), Bikash Das (24), Rumit Das (30), Raj Kapoor (55), Samir Das (25), Shiv Kumar Das (23), Om Das (26), Ajay Das (30), and Devi Charan (36). They were arrested on 26 January from the Sebak Colony area of Bandel Road under Kotwali Police Station in the city.
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The CMP press release stated that all 11 were named in the First Information Report (FIR) and had submitted bail applications, which were rejected by the court after a hearing. The case remains under investigation.
The incident is linked to the arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das who was detained at Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on November 25, 2024, in a sedition case filed at Chattogram's Kotwali Police Station. He was brought to Chattogram and sent to jail the next day following a court hearing.
Chaos erupted outside the court premises when Chinmoy's supporters gathered in large numbers, attempting to prevent his transfer to jail. They held the prison van for nearly three hours, creating an atmosphere of panic. Security forces, including police and BGB, had to intervene with baton charges and sound grenades to disperse the crowd.
The violent clashes spread from the court area to Laldighi and Kotwali, during which lawyer Saiful Islam Alif was brutally hacked to death. The Chattogram Lawyers' Association blamed ISKCON members and sympathizers for the murder. Alif's father, Jamal Uddin, later filed a murder case at Kotwali Police Station.
The investigation into the killing and the surrounding unrest is ongoing.
