Tensions simmer in Bangladesh as a Chittagong court indicts key Hindu figure Chinmoy Krishna Das and 38 associates in the fatal stabbing of lawyer Saiful Islam Alif. The November 2024 killing outside the courthouse has become a flashpoint in the nation’s ongoing communal strife.
Presiding Judge Mohammad Jahidul Haq finalized the charges after heated arguments in the Divisional Speedy Trial Tribunal. Complainant lawyer Rehanul Wazed Chowdhury told The Daily Star that the court invoked IPC 302 and 109 against Chinmoy, slapping diverse charges on 22 co-accused.
With 23 suspects detained and 16 on the run, heavy security blanketed the premises for Chinmoy’s hearing—900 officers from RAB, police, and army ensured no repeats of past violence.
Defending himself sans counsel, Chinmoy disavowed any role in the slaying and called for deeper scrutiny. Alif perished in a November 26 melee following the court’s rejection of Chinmoy’s sedition bail application.
His Dhaka arrest on November 25 led to jailing amid bail refusals, fueling Hindu outrage across Bangladesh. Post-Hasina, under Yunus’s interim rule, Hindu targeting has reportedly spiked, prompting India’s stern warnings of ‘premeditated harassment.’
As proceedings unfold, this verdict raises pivotal questions about justice, minority protections, and political motivations in a polarized Bangladesh, potentially reshaping interfaith relations for years.