A court in Chattogram quashed the bid for relief for jailed monk Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, the prominent Hindu leader resisting atrocities against minorities in Bangladesh. Chattogram Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Saiful Islam on Wednesday rejected the bail plea by a Supreme Court lawyer, stating that he lacked the power of attorney to represent Chinmoy before the bench, reported The Daily Star.
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Rabindra Ghosh, the Supreme Court lawyer, tried to get legal help for Chinmoy Das a week after no lawyer could step in to represent him in a Chattogram court after Islamists threatened them with 'public thrashing'.
Ghosh, a 75-year-old senior lawyer, said he was harassed and attacked outside the court when he went to file the petition on Wednesday. Hundreds of lawyers also crowded the courtroom during the hearing on Wednesday, creating chaos.
During the last bail hearing on December 3, Das went legally unrepresented, as his lawyer Ramen Roy was battling for life in the intensive care unit (ICU)of a hospital after an attack.
Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari was arrested by Dhaka Police's Detective Branch under sedition charges on November 25. In an exclusive interview with India Today Digital, Das in November said that the sedition case was an attempt to finish off the leadership spearheading the protests for minority rights in Muhammad Yunus' regime.
Ghosh had applied for Das' bail in the Chattogram court, said the Hindu monk was arrested in a fabricated case. Gosh also said Das' was suffering from diabetes, asthma and other issues, reported The Daily Star.
"There is a High Court direction to allow senior lawyers to hear cases in the absence of filing lawyers. The court could have accepted the petitions as I am a senior Supreme Court lawyer," Ghosh told the Dhaka-based Business Standard.
Ghosh told The Daily Star that he had applied for permission to conduct a hearing to advance the bail hearing date, and requested permission to submit documents related to the case.
"Despite having no Vakalatnama (power of attorney), I can handle any case in any court across the country, as per the Supreme Court's directive," he said.
SENIOR LAWYER SEEKING RELIEF FOR CHINMOY DAS ATTACKED
Rabindra Ghosh also alleged that a group of lawyers harassed him and assaulted him outside the court.
"I have been bullied and attacked by about 40 people wearing black coats. I doubt they are not lawyers, they are rather outsiders who harassed me for defending Chinmoy in court," Ghosh told the Business Standard.
Advocate Shuvashish Sharma, who was to represent Das on December 3, could not attend the bail hearing last week. Videos circulated of several lawyerswarning if anyone came forward to defend Chinmoy Krishna Das would be thrashed in public.
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Hundreds of lawyers crowded the courtroom during the hearing on Wednesday, creating chaos. Amid the commotion, the judge denied the bail plea and left the court.
The next date of Das's hearing, after the December hearing, was slated to be January 3. So, Das had to be in jail for a month.
WHY SEDITION CASE AGAINST CHINMOY DAS?
Earlier on October 31, a BNP leader filed a case with Kotwali Police Station, accusing Chinmoy and 18 others of disrespecting the national flag in Chattogram's New Market area during a rally of the Hindu community on October 25. The BNP leader was later expelled from the party for breaching rules and regulations.
Chinmoy Krishna Das is the President of the Pundarik Dham of Chattogram and the spokesperson of the Bangladesh Sammilito Sanatani Jagaran Jot, which has been holding massive ralliesfor an eight-point programme to secure rights for Bangladesh's minorities.
Following Das' arrest, his bail application was rejected by Chittagong's Metropolitan Magistrate's Court on November 26.
Later, two other monks who were close to Das were also jailed on November 29.
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Following the fall of PM Sheikh Hasina's regime on August 5, Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari gained immense popularity, as he has emerged as the biggest leader of Hindus in Bangladesh. This also made him one of the main targets of Islamists.
The attack on his lawyer, threats to other lawyers by Islamists, and repeated bail denials to Das is seen as an attempt to silence the voice of Hindus, the biggest minority group, in Bangladesh.
Published By:
Sushim Mukul
Published On:
Dec 11, 2024