Created By: Logically Facts
Co-Published By: LokmatTimes.com
Bangladesh is once again on high alert following the arrest of Hindu priest Chinmoy Krishna Das in a sedition case. Violence erupted on Tuesday at the Chattogram Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court after his bail plea was rejected, resulting in the death of one lawyer and several others being injured. Amid the unrest, several social media posts and reports from Indian news outlets, including Republic, OpIndia, First Post, and The Economic Times, claimed that the slain lawyer was defending ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) priest Chinmoy Krishna Das. One such post on X (formerly Twitter), which included a video from Republic, stated: “Muslim lawyer defending ISKCON's Chinmoy Krishna Das killed by an Islamist mob outside Chattogram court. Bangladesh is worse than Pakistan. Has anyone anywhere come out ashamed of being a Muslim yet?” The claim was also amplified by right wing X handle Kreately in an X post.
However, an in-depth investigation by Logically Facts debunked this claim. It was revealed that the lawyer who was killed was not representing Chinmoy Krishna Das but was, in fact, Saiful Islam, an assistant public prosecutor. Advocate Subhashish Sharma was the one representing Das. Multiple Bangladeshi news sources confirmed the identity of the murdered lawyer as Saiful Islam, also known as Alif. He was serving as an assistant public prosecutor (APP), a government-appointed role to represent the state in court. According to local news outlet Prothom Alo, violence broke out near the Chattogram court after Das’s bail was denied, and Saiful Islam was reportedly attacked by protestors who dragged him from the chamber and hacked him to death. He was declared dead at Chattogram Medical College.
A press release from the Chief Adviser’s Press Wing of Bangladesh’s interim government also refuted the claims, emphasizing that Saiful Islam was not representing Das. It clarified that Subhashish Sharma was the lawyer listed in Das's vakalatnama (legal representation document) submitted to the court. The press release called the false reports “malicious” and urged everyone to avoid spreading such misleading information. Chattogram Lawyers Association President Nazim Uddin Chowdhury and a local Dhaka journalist also confirmed that Saiful Islam had no involvement with Krishna Das’s case and was a public prosecutor recently appointed by the government.
To conclude, the lawyer who was murdered in the Chattogram violence was not defending ISKCON priest Chinmoy Krishna Das. Saiful Islam, an assistant public prosecutor, had no connection to the case, while Das was represented by advocate Subhashish Sharma.
This story was originally published by Logically Facts and republished by LokmatTimes.com as part of the Shakti Collective.