Fact Check: Muslim lawyer killed in Bangladesh was NOT defending Hindu priest Chinmoy Das

After Das's bail plea was rejected on Tuesday, the Chittagong court premises turned into a warzone that led to the death of a lawyer. 

India Today Fact Check

Claim
The Muslim lawyer defending Bangladeshi Hindu leader Chinmay Das arrested in a sedition case was brutally killed in Dhaka.  

Fact
The deceased lawyer identified as Saiful Islam Alif was an assistant public prosecutor in the Chittagong court. Subhashis Sharma is Chinmay Das's lawyer.

Bangladesh is once again on edge following the arrest of Hindu priest Chinmoy Krishna Das in a sedition case. Violence erupted on Tuesday at the Chittagong Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court premises after his bail plea was rejected, leaving one lawyer dead and several others injured.

Meanwhile, a post has gone viral on social media claiming the deceased lawyer was defending the priest, and he was Muslim. One such post read, "Muslim lawyer defending ISKON's Chinmoy Krishna Das killed in Dhaka."

Both Republic TV and OpIndia published similar claims but later updated their stories. Reuters initially reported that the Muslim lawyer, Alif, was defending Das but later revised this information.

India Today Fact Check has found that the lawyer killed in the clash was not defending Chinmoy Das. He was a public prosecutor fighting for the state.

OUR PROBE

A November 26 news report published in Prothom Alo, a leading Bangladeshi daily, featured an image of the deceased lawyer, Saiful Islam alias Alif, 35, and identified him as an assistant public prosecutor.

Several other news outlets, including the Business Standard, and the Dhaka Tribune also mentioned that Alif was a public prosecutor and the Bangladeshi interim government had ordered strict punishment for the culprits.

We also found the Facebook profile of Saiful Islam Alif, where he shared a video on November 25, which explained the grounds supporting Chinmoy Krishna Das's arrest.

WHO WAS FIGHTING FOR DAS?

According to a BBC Bangla report, the name of the lawyer representing Chinmoy Das is Subhashis Sharma.

Tanvir Mahtab Abir, a fact-checker from Bangladesh also shared with us the waqalatnama or the bail application plea of Chinmoy Das, which had the stamp of advocate Subhashis Sharma, a lawyer who practices in the Bangladesh Supreme Court and Chittagong Judges Court.

The press wing of the Chief Advisor of Bangladesh’s interim government also debunked this rumour on Facebook and stated Subhashis Sharma is the Hindu priest’s lawyer.

Therefore, it is more than evident that the Muslim lawyer killed on Tuesday in Chittagong was not defending Hindu priest Chinmoy Das.