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| - Several social media posts are being shared on social media claiming that the lawyer defending former ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) priest Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari in Bangladesh was killed in Bangladesh in recent riots in Chattogram, which reportedly erupted following Das’s arrest.
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. pic.twitter.com/k7JpiSRhfZ
— Vasu Jana Jagarana Samiti (@JJ_Samiti) November 26, 2024
One such post on X 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.”
Soon, another version started being circulated on social media alleging the advocate was lynched to death by a violent Hindu mob.
ISKCON’s terrorism in Bangladesh have made a scattered situation. They Slaughter Advocate Mohammad Saiful Islam Alif. pic.twitter.com/QDF7bJcvMK
— Borhan Uddin (@borhan1320) November 29, 2024
It blamed the Hindu group for killing the advocate instead. The caption reads: “ISKCON’s terrorism in Bangladesh have made a scattered situation. They Slaughter Advocate Mohammad Saiful Islam Alif.”
The context being current when Das, a former ISKCON priest and spokesperson of the Hindu group Sammilita Sanatani Jote, was arrested at Dhaka airport on November 25, 2024, on charges of sedition. Soon protests erupted in Chattogram demanding his his release. A local court, however, denied him a bail on November 26 and following the court verdict, the claim was shared on several social and mainstream media news outlets.
The claim has been shared here and here:
FACT-CHECK
Digiteye India received a request for fact-check on its Whatsapp tipline and out first search on Google revealed that it has been widely reported on news outlets. However, when we checked further, the name of the murdered lawyer was revealed as Saiful Islam (also known as Alif), an assistant public prosecutor, who never represented Das but was known to have opposed both ISKCON and Awami League. Moreover, being a public prosecutor, he would represent the government and not the accused as per the legal practice norms.
A press note released by Bangladesh interim government’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus’s office debunked the claim and clarified 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.
So, 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. Hence, the claim is false.
Claim: Muslim lawyer defending ISKCON’s former priest Chinmoy Krishna Das killed by an Islamist mob outside Chattogram court
Conclusion: Misrepresentation. The killed lawyer was a government advocate, so did not defend Das. Instead, lawyer Subhashish Sharma pleaded for Das’s bail in Chittorgram court.
Rating: Misrepresentation —
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