Dhaka:

A lawyer was allegedly killed on Tuesday after clashes in Bangladesh’s port city of Chittagong over the arrest of ISKCON leader Chinmoy Krishna Das by the authorities, lawyers said.

“Saiful Islam Alif, a lawyer, was killed in Chittagong,” Nazim Uddin Chowdhury, President of Chittagong Bar Association, told ANI over the phone.

The motive of the killing, however, is not clear.

“Saiful Islam Arif was brutally hacked to death,” said Ashraf Hossain Razzak, General Secretary of the Chittagong Bar Association.

“Chittagong Bar Association has decided to suspend the court activities on Wednesday in protest of their member killing,” Razzak added.

The law enforcement agencies are on high alert across the country amid tensions in Chittagong. Bangladesh has deployed extra forces in Chittagong and capital Dhaka.

Thousands of people in Chittagong have gathered in the court premises demanding the release of Chinmoy Brahmachari, a Hindu priest.

The protesters blocked the prison van after a court rejected his bail prayer and ordered to send him jail. Police and other law enforcing agencies fired tear shells and sound grenades to remove them out. After two hours of clashes, Chinmoy Brahmachari was landed in jail, witnesses said.

“A case has been filed against Chimnoy in charge of sedition, accusing him of hosting a flag on the top of a stand of Bangladesh’s national flag. But the man who filed the case, now he is not attached to the case. He is now disagreed to continue the case,” a minority leader said.

Bangladesh Hindu Bouddha Christian Unity Council (BHBCUC), the largest minority group in Bangladesh, on Tuesday expressed concerns over the arrest of Chinmoy Brahmachari. The group condemned the atrocities and urged the interim government for his release immediately.

“We strongly condemn the arrest of Prabhu Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, spokesperson of Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, from the Dhaka airport area on Monday afternoon”, said Manindra Kumar Nath, Acting General Secretary of BHBCUC.

“As a result of this arrest, Bangladesh’s international image of freedom of expression and human rights will be damaged in the world,” he told ANI.

Nath said that the Hindu saint Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari was organizing Hindu community to place “8-point demands” for the minority.

The members of the minority community protested across Bangladesh, including capital Dhaka, immediately after the arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das by Bangladeshi authorities at Dhaka airport.

Chief Advisor to the interim Bangladesh government, Muhammad Yunus condemned the murder of a lawyer in the port city of Chittagong.

He has also ordered an investigation into the killing and an appropriate legal course. He has urged people to keep calm and stay away from participating in any untoward activities. He has also ordered law enforcement agencies to step up security in the port city, including in all the vulnerable neighbourhoods.

“The Interim Government is committed to ensuring and upholding communal harmony in Bangladesh at any cost,” Yunus said in a statement.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus – who last week took oath as head of Bangladesh’s interim government – has heaped praise on students who spearheaded protests against ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. “There is no doubt… because of the student-led revolution the whole government collapsed…” Mr Yunus told reporters after a Sunday night meet with the students.

“I said (to the students), ‘I respect you… I admire you. What you have done is absolutely unparalleled… and because you ordered me to do this (to take charge of the interim administration) I accept…’,” Mr Yunus said, recounting part of the conversation he had with the students.

Two of the student protesters – Nahid Islam and Asif Mahmud – are part of a 16-member advisory council that was sworn in with Mr Yunus. The 84-year-old won the 2006 Nobel Peace prize for his work in microfinance and setting up the Grameen Bank, which works for community development.

READ | Md Yunus Takes Oath As Head Of Bangladesh Interim Government

Mr Yunus has also stressed the wave of resignations of high-ranking public officials, including the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and head of Bangladesh’s central bank, was “conducted legally”.

They had reportedly been issued ultimatums to quit.

READ | Why Bangladesh Chief Justice, Sheikh Hasina Loyalist, Was Forced To Quit

“They want to have a new court,” he said of the students. “So they went there and asked the chief justice to resign and put their pressure to make him resign.”

“I’m sure they will find the legal way to justify all of this, because legally… all the steps were followed,” he said. His office only agreed to publish these quotes Monday evening.

“The Monster Is Gone”

“Finally, this moment, the monster is gone,” Mr Yunus also said, referring to Ms Hasina’s departure and the end of what her critics said was an autocratic rule that stifled all dissent. 

However, Mr Yunus warned the interim government that public goodwill is a limited resource and that they would face many difficult decisions ahead. “The moment you start taking decisions, some people will like your decisions, some people will not like your decisions,” he said. “…that’s the way it works.”

Interim Bangladesh Government

The interim government was formed after Bangladesh witnessed weeks of violence and clashes – triggered by protests over a jobs quota – forced Ms Hasina, a five-time PM, to resign and flee.

READ | Explained: How Gen Z Women And Military Transformed Bangladesh

Sheikh Hasina left the Prime Minister’s residence in Dhaka – hours before it was overrun – and flew to India in a Bangladeshi military aircraft. The 76-year-old, seen as a key ally of New Delhi, remains in an undisclosed location amid reports she will seek political asylum, possibly in the United Kingdom.

Following Ms Hasina’s departure Md Yunus – who faced multiple corruption charges under the previous government and was in Europe while Sheikh Hasina was in power – was picked by the protesting to oversee democratic reforms.

His first act after being administered an oath of office – and taking the title of ‘chief advisor’ – was to lead a solemn tribute to the more than 450 people who died in the protests.

READ | Muhammad Yunus Honours Heroes, First Act As Bangladesh Interim Leader

It is unclear when Bangladesh will hold an election to select a new Prime Minister. Whenever that is, Mrs Hasina is likely to return to contest, her son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy told The Times of India. “She will go back to Bangladesh the moment the interim government decides to hold an election,” he said.

India Extends “Best Wishes”

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has extended his best wishes to Mr Yunus,

READ |PM Extends Best Wishes To Yunus, “Hopes For Safety Of Hindus”

“We hope for an early return to normalcy, ensuring the safety and protection of Hindus and all other minority communities. India remains committed to working with Bangladesh to fulfil the shared aspirations of both our peoples for peace, security and development,” he wrote on X. 

READ | How Sheikh Hasina’s Ouster Affects India-Bangladesh Ties

With the change of guard in neighbouring Bangladesh, the Indian government now faces a diplomatic dilemma, even as China was also swift to welcome Dhaka’s new authorities, saying it “attaches importance to the development” of relations.

With input from agencies

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Dhaka:

Families of the persons killed in Bangladesh’s student protests on Tuesday placed 11-point demands, including rehabilitation by providing jobs, before the interim government which is set to be formed to replace the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s regime.

The death count in the massive protests following Hasina-led government’s announcement of the quota system in jobs has risen to 440, with more than 200 people killed in the renewed spell of violence towards the weekend as violent clashes erupted between police and mostly student protesters.

A statement, signed by Harun-ur Rashid, the convener of a proposed “Committee on Families of Injured and Killed in Anti-Discriminatory Student Movement”, said an initiative has been taken to collect accurate data on the families of the students, children, youth, elderly, men and women who were injured and killed in the violence.

The demands include providing Tk2,000-3,000 per month as a grant for all students from pre-primary to Masters based on age under a “Food-Card” programme, unemployment allowance of Tk3,000 to job aspirants, formation of an inquiry committee consisting of armed forces and students for the treatment of the injured in the anti-discrimination student movement and the speedy rehabilitation of the affected families, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported.

The demands also include direct government scholarships to students in private universities, changing the name of the educational institution established after various individuals of the Sheikh Hasina family and naming those after the martyrs Pilkhana Shaheed army officer, and also in memory of the martyrs killed in various movements and anti-discriminatory student protests.

Inclusion of the neutral ex-army and police force members of the peacekeeping mission in the United Nations on an urgent basis to improve the ongoing law and order situation and also the inclusion of Bangladesh National Cadet Corps (BNCC) and Bangladesh Scouts as their partners, the committee demanded.

The demand also included taking a quick initiative to recover all the illegal weapons used in the movement in the past days, consideration of redeployment of all categories of honest and efficient officers-employees who were deprived of promotion/compulsory retirement due to oppression and discrimination during the previous government.

Speedy recovery of money of big defaulters and money smuggled abroad, the speedy trial of big defaulters and money smugglers in military courts, and the inclusion of at least one person in the interim government from the active student families of the anti-quota movement, the injured families and families of those killed, it said.

The committee offered its deepest condolences to the bereaved families of those killed and injured in the movement and congratulated the army officers and soldiers at all levels of the armed forces, including the chief of the Bangladesh Army.

Meanwhile, in a video message issued by the police headquarters’ media and public relations division on Tuesday, Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun urged leaders of all political parties and the Students Against Discrimination to make a call for not carrying out attacks on the police members and their establishments.

He said the army men have been assisting the police to ensure their security.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)