A group of miscreants killed advocate Saiful Islam, a lawyer for the state side of the Chittagong Metropolitan Court. The news agency Reuters published a report on the matter. Citing a police officer there, Saiful was mentioned as the lawyer of former ISKCON leader Chinmoy Krishna Das. Reuters later removed that part from their report and mentioned this at the bottom of the report.
The fourth paragraph of the report published by Reuters stated, “Police officer Liaquat Ali said a Muslim lawyer for (Chinmoy) Das was killed in protests outside the court (in Chittagong).” Referring to the deletion of this paragraph, Reuters said in its note, 'The comment of the police officer has been deleted from the fourth paragraph (para) of this report. Where he said, the slain lawyer (Chinmoy) was a lawyer for Das.'
“At least one person has been killed as protesters clashed with law enforcement in Bangladesh to protest the arrest of a (Hindu) religious leader,” Reuters said in a revised report. Meanwhile, neighboring India has called for ensuring the safety of Hindus and minorities.
Chinmoy Krishna Das, a Hindu (former) leader associated with the International Krishna Consciousness Sangh (ISCON), was arrested from Dhaka airport last Monday. Several charges including sedition have been brought against him. After his arrest, his supporters started protests in Dhaka and Chittagong cities.
A Muslim lawyer was killed during a protest outside a Chittagong court, police said. In a statement, the country's interim government ordered an investigation into the murder. It also said that Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus has ordered law enforcement agencies to strengthen security in the port city. The statement said that the interim government is determined to protect and ensure the communal harmony of Bangladesh at any cost.
Chinmoy led a large rally in Chittagong last October. He was then charged with sedition. He was accused of insulting the national flag of Bangladesh. When he was arrested and taken to court in that case, a court in Chittagong refused his bail on Tuesday.
Chittagong Metropolitan Police Commissioner Haseeb Aziz said that when Chinmoy Das was taken from the court to prison, more than 2,000 supporters surrounded the prison van and held it for about two hours. He said, at that time they went on rampage and threw bricks and stones at us. We have to fire tear gas to disperse them. No one was seriously injured, but one of our constables was injured.
Meanwhile, India condemned the arrest of Chinmoy Das in a strong statement, saying incidents of vandalism and arson against minorities and those who insulted deities are still unaccountable. Although Hindu-majority India maintains strong cultural and business ties with neighboring Bangladesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has expressed concern over recent attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh.
While the perpetrators of the aforementioned incidents are yet to be caught, it is regrettable that charges have been brought against a religious leader who raised legitimate demands through peaceful assembly, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.
In response to India's response, Bangladesh's foreign ministry said the government does not interfere in the work of the judiciary and the matter is being handled through the courts. The Government of Bangladesh is committed to maintaining communal harmony in the country. “
