Fact Check: Lawyer Killed in Bangladesh Was Not Defending Former ISKCON Priest

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What is the claim?

Several social media posts and reports by Indian news outlets, including Republic, OpIndia, First Post, and The Economic Times, claim that the lawyer defending former ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) priest Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari was hacked to death in Bangladesh during recent violence in Chattogram. This violence reportedly erupted following Das's arrest.


One such post on X (archived here), which included a video from Republic, stated: "Muslim lawyer defending ISKCON's Chinmoy Krishna Das killed by an Islamist mob outside Chattogram court. Bangladesh is worse than Pakistan. Has anyone anywhere come out ashamed of being a Muslim yet."


Archived versions of similar posts on X can be found here, here, and here. The claim is also circulating on Facebook, and the archives for those can be viewed here, here, and here. 


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Das, an ISKCON leader and spokesperson for the Hindu group Sammilita Sanatani Jote, was arrested at Dhaka airport on November 25, 2024, on charges of sedition. Protests erupted in Chattogram, where his supporters demanded his release. On November 26, a local court denied him bail, leading to further violence, including the murder of a lawyer and injuries to several others.


However, our investigation revealed that the murdered lawyer was not defending Chinmoy Das. Instead, he was an assistant public prosecutor named Saiful Islam. Advocate Subhashish Sharma represented Das.

What did we find?

A review of multiple Bangladeshi news reports identified the murdered lawyer as Saiful Islam, also known as Alif. He worked as an assistant public prosecutor (APP), a position appointed by the government to represent the state in court.


Reports detailed that violence broke out near the Chattogram court premises after Das's bail was denied. According to local media outlet Prothom Alo, Chattogram Lawyers Association President Nazim Uddin Chowdhury stated, "Protestors grabbed Islam from the chamber and hacked him to death." Islam was later declared dead at Chattogram Medical College.


A press note released by the Chief Adviser's Press Wing of Bangladesh's interim government (archived here) further debunked the claim, clarifying that advocate Subhashish Sharma represented Das. The press note read, "Some Indian media are claiming that lawyer Saiful Islam Alif, who was brutally murdered in Chattogram today, was representing Chinmoy Krishna Das. The claim is false and is being spread with malafide intention. The vakalatnama produced by Chinmoy Krishna Das to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court has shown that advocate Subhashish Sharma is his lawyer. We request everyone to refrain from any provocative, false reports."


The post also included Das's vakalatnama, an official document appointing his lawyer, which listed Subhashish Sharma as his legal representative.


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Logically Facts contacted Assistant Press Secretary to the Chief Adviser, Muhammad Yunus Nayem Ali, who redirected us to the official press note refuting the claim.


A BBC Bangla report corroborated this, quoting Das's lawyer Subhashish Sharma: "He (Das) has been taken to jail. Here, the crowd who wanted his freedom was present. The police attacked them, dispersed everyone, and took Prabhu (Das) to a prison van. He was taken away after three-thirty."


Chattogram Lawyers Association President Nazim Uddin Chowdhury also confirmed the same to Logically Facts, stating, "These statements are not true. Saiful was not linked to Krishna Das in any way. He was an advocate in regular practice."


Additionally, a local journalist in Dhaka, speaking on condition of anonymity, verified that Saiful Islam was a public prosecutor recently appointed by the government and had no connection to Das's case.

The verdict

The lawyer murdered in the recent Chattogram violence was not defending ISKCON priest Chinmoy Krishna Das. The lawyer, Saiful Islam, was an assistant public prosecutor, while Das was represented by advocate Subhashish Sharma.


(This story was originally published by Logically Facts, and republished by News Agency as part of the Shakti Collective)