STAFF CORRESPONDENT, Ctg

A Chattogram court yesterday granted bail to 63 lawyers, including the counsels of former ISKCON leader Chinmoy Krishna Das, in a case filed over clashes and vandalism on the court premises on November 26.

The violence broke out following the rejection of bail of Chinmoy, who was arrested on charges of disrespecting the national flag.

Yesterday, Additional Metropolitan Magistrate Sarker Hasan Shahriar passed the bail order after the lawyers surrendered before the court seeking bail, said Public Prosecutor Mofizul Hoque Bhuiyan.

Senior Supreme Court lawyer Subrata Chowdhury, who represented the lawyers during the hearing, told The Daily Star, “The court heard all parties. We informed the court that the death of lawyer Saiful Islam Alif [amid clashes on November 26] was a tragic incident, and the perpetrators must be punished.

“However, the accused lawyers were not involved in the clashes or vandalism. Additionally, no lawyer’s name was mentioned in the murder case filed by Alif’s father. The court carefully reviewed the arguments and granted bail.”

The case was lodged by Alif’s brother following the clashes. The court granted bail to 63 out of the 66 accused on a bond of Tk 5,000 each.

The hearing was held under tight security, and some of Alif’s associates reportedly objected to the court’s decision to grant bail.

On November 25, Chinmoy, also the spokesperson for Sammilita Sanatani Jagaran Jote, was arrested at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka in the case filed with a Chattogram police station.