Dhaka, 17 April (H.S.):

A court in Chattogram has granted bail to prominent Hindu spiritual leader Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari in a long-pending land encroachment case, offering a glimmer of relief amid his protracted legal battles since November 2024. Judicial Magistrate Shakhawat Hossain issued the order on Thursday, though the approximately 40-year-old monk remains in judicial custody at Chattogram Jail due to multiple outstanding charges.

The case, filed in 2023 by BNP leader and former minister Mir Mohammad Nasir Uddin, accuses Brahmachari and five others of seizing land, issuing threats, and assaulting locals in Hathazari's Mekhla area. This development follows the Dhaka High Court's earlier approval of bail in a high-profile sedition case stemming from an alleged national flag desecration on November 26, 2024—an incident that ignited widespread violence, including the mob lynching of lawyer Saiful Islam Alif.

Brahmachari, a native of Satkania and head of Chattogram's Pundarik Dham since 2007, founded the Sanatan Jagaran Manch to champion Hindu rights amid reported minority persecutions. His November 25, 2024 arrest at Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport by the Detective Branch sparked protests in Shahbagh and Chattogram, drawing India's expressions of deep concern over minority safety.

At least six other cases persist against him, encompassing the lawyer's murder—formal charges filed July 1, 2025—assaults on police, vandalism, and obstructing justice, with prior bail pleas repeatedly denied.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar