NN Online:
The High Court (HC) on Tuesday issued a rule questioning the reasons for denying bail to Chinmoy Krishna Das, the former leader of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), in connection with a sedition case.
A bench comprising Justice M Atoar Rahman and Justice Md Ali Reza issued the rule following a hearing on a petition filed by Chinmoy seeking bail in the case. The court has instructed the state to respond to this rule within two weeks.
On October 25 last year, a large gathering of the Sanatani community was held in Chattogram under the leadership of Chinmoy Krishna Das.
A sedition case was filed against 19 people, including Chinmoy, on charge of belittling the national flag on October 31.
On November 22, another large rally was held in Rangpur under the leadership of Chinmoy who was arrested in Dhaka on November 25 in the sedition case.
On January 2 this year, Chattogram Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Saiful Islam denied bail to Chinmoy in the sedition case. On December 11 last year, the same court rejected his bail petition in the same case.
The Chattogram court rejected Chinmoy’s bail petition, ordered him to be sent to jail, and the decision sparked clashes between his followers, law enforcers and lawyers on the court premises.
At one stage of the clash, one lawyer, a lawyer named advocate Saiful Islam Alif, was hacked to death outside the court premises.
Several cases have so far been filed against Chinmoy and others following the murder of the lawyer.
