20 held in Chattogram over lawyer Saiful killing

Clashes in Chattogram over the jailing of Hindu priest Chinmoy Krishna Das Bramachari on Tuesday. UNB

Chattogram, Nov 27 - The security forces arrested 20 people in overnight raids in the city in connection with the killing of young lawyer Saiful Islam Alif amid clashes over the jailing of Hindu priest Chinmoy Krishna Das Bramachari.

Kotwali Police Station Officer-in-Charge Fazlul Kader said that the arrests were made during operations in Patharghata Mathar Potti, Andarkilla, and Hazari Goli areas from Tuesday evening until midnight.

The lawyer was hacked to death amid a three-way clashes among law enforcers, agitated protestors, and supporters of Chinmoy Krishna, a controversial former ISKCON leader and spokesperson for the Samonnito Sanatoni Jagoron Jote, following the denial of his bail application. He faces charges of sedition.

Joint security forces continued their operations throughout the city after 10 pm on Tuesday night. However, police confirmed that no case regarding Saiful Islam's murder had been filed as of Tuesday night.

General Secretary of the Chattogram District Bar Association Md. Nazim Uddin said that Saiful Islam's autopsy was completed on Wednesday morning.

His namaz-e-janaza will take place at 10 am at the court premises, followed by a second prayer at 11 am at the Jamiatul Falah National Mosque grounds. The final prayer will be held after Asr at his family home in Lohagara.

The Chattogram District Bar Association called for a boycott of the court on Wednesday demanding that the killers of the lawyer be arrested. - UNB