A Chattogram Metropolitan Magistrate court on Monday accepted the charge sheet against 39 people, including former ISKCON organiser Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, in the case over the killing of lawyer Saiful Islam Alif.
The court also issued arrest warrants against 19 absconding accused.
Metropolitan magistrate SM Alauddin accepted the charge sheet after a hearing in presence of the complainant Jamal Uddin, father of the slain lawyer, said assistant public prosecutor Raihanul Wazed Chowdhury.
He added that the complainant expressed satisfaction with the charge sheet and informed the court that he would not file an objection petition. During the hearing, the prosecution also appealed to include Sukanto Dutta as an accused, noting that he was already implicated in eight criminal cases, including those related to arms, narcotics, theft and robbery, under different police stations in Chattogram city.
Following the murder, photos of Sukanto Dutta with the prime accused Chinmoy went viral on social media, prompting the prosecution to insist to include him in the accused list.
Though the police initially sought his discharge, citing lack of accurate name and address, the court included him on the appeal from prosecution, bringing the total number of accused to 39.
Earlier, on August 10, the hearing on charge sheet acceptance was deferred due to the absence of the complainant. The court then fixed August 25 as the fresh date after issuing summons.
Victim鈥檚 father filed the case on November 29 past year with the Kotwali police in Chattogram city, naming 31 individuals and 15鈥�16 unidentified persons, mostly residents of Bundel Sebok Colony near Rangam Convention Hall in the city.
On July 1 this year, case investigation officer Mahfuzur Rahman, who is an assistant commissioner of the Chattogram Metropolitan Police, submitted the charge sheet against 38 accused, with Chinmoy Das named as the prime accused.
At the time, the police sought discharge of three original suspects, while adding 10 new names after investigation. Of the 39 accused, 19 remain absconding.
On October 25, 2024, Chinmoy led a large gathering of the Hindu community in Chattogram.
On October 31, 2024, a sedition case was filed against 19 people, including Chinmoy, on charges of desecrating the national flag.
On November 22, Chinmoy led another large rally in Rangpur following which he was arrested at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on November 25 in a sedition case.
Next day, a Chattogram court rejected his bail petition, sending him to jail.
The court鈥檚 decision sparked clashes between his followers and the members of the law enforcement agencies on the court premises.
At one stage of the clash, lawyer Saiful was hacked to death outside the court premises.
Several cases were filed against Chinmoy and others following Saiful鈥檚 killing.
On April 30, the High Court granted bail to Chinmoy in the sedition case, but the Appellate Division later cancelled the bail.
