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Police have named Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, spokesperson for the Sanatani Jagaran Jote, as the prime accused while bringing charges against 37 others over the murder of lawyer Saiful Islam Alif in Chattogram.
On Tuesday, Assistant Commissioner Mahfuzur Rahman of Chattogram police’s Kotwali zone, also the investigating officer, submitted the chargesheet to the Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court of the city.
He said, “Of the 31 individuals initially named in the first information report (FIR), three have been recommended for discharge. The remaining 28 are named in the charge sheet, along with 10 others who emerged during the investigation.
The murder took place during a violent episode on Nov 26 in the aftermath of a court hearing that denied bail to Chinmoy. Chinmoy had been arrested in a separate sedition case filed on Oct 31 by BNP leader Firoz Khan, general secretary of the party’s Chandgaon-Mohra ward unit.
That earlier case named Chinmoy and 18 others, accusing them of anti-state activities. Several of the accused were later arrested.
When Chinmoy’s bail was rejected on Nov 26, members of the Sanatani community launched a violent protest outside the court, surrounding the prison van. Police eventually used sound grenades to disperse the crowd after two-and-a-half hours and escorted Chinmoy to jail.
During the clash, protesters vandalised vehicles, including motorcycles parked along Court Road. General lawyers and court staff confronted the demonstrators, triggering a series of scuffles.
In the ensuing chaos on Rangam Convention Hall Road, lawyer Saiful Islam Alif was killed.
Asked why Chinmoy, who is in police custody, was made the prime accused, Officer Mahfuzur said: “He incited the crowd with provocative remarks after his bail was denied. Our investigation shows his words triggered the attack on Alif by other accused individuals.”
“Chinmoy has been charged as the instigator. Based on confessional statements and interrogations of previously arrested suspects, we have identified those directly involved and included them in the chargesheet,” he said.
The chargesheet states that Alif was murdered “as part of a wider plan to destabilise the country.”
Of the 38 people now charged, 20 have been arrested while 18 remain at large.
Assistant Public Prosecutor Md Raihanul Wazed Chowdhury said the court will take up the chargesheet once the date of a hearing is set.
On Nov 29, Alif’s father Jamal Uddin filed a murder case with Chattogram’s Kotwali Police Station, naming 31 people and listing another 15–16 as unidentified suspects.
Police confirmed that three of the arrested suspects, Chandan Das, Rajib Bhattacharya, and Ripon Das, have given confessional statements under Section 164.