Bangladesh court grants bail to Hindu monk Chinmoy Das in one case

DHAKAL: A Bangladesh court has granted bail to Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das in one case, while he remains in custody. The order was issued on Thursday by Judicial Magistrate Shakhawat Hossain in Chattogram after a hearing. However, he is still facing six other cases, including one related to the murder of a lawyer.

“The case in which he was granted bail was filed by former minister Mir Mohammad Nasir Uddin, father of State Minister for Hill Tracts and Land, Mir Mohammad Helal Uddin. The case involved allegations of land grabbing, intimidation and assault in Mekhal area of Hathazari in Chattogram”, Chinmoy’s lawyer Apurba Kumar Bhattacharjee said over the phone. “Six people, including Chinmoy Krishna Das, were accused in the case filed in 2023”, he added.

On November 26, 2024, during clashes surrounding his bail in a sedition case over alleged desecration of the national flag, lawyer Saiful Islam was beaten and hacked to death. Following the incident, his father, Jamal Uddin, filed a murder case naming 31 accused.

The cases were filed over attacks on police, obstruction of government duties, assaults on lawyers and litigants, and cocktail explosions. In the murder case, police submitted a charge sheet on July 1 last year, stating that the lawyer was killed following incitement and instructions from Chinmoy Krishna Das.

On August 25, the court accepted the chargesheet against 39 accused, including Chinmoy Krishna Das. The trial is currently at the stage of witness testimony. (ANI)