False information about Advocate Ramen Roy at home and abroad
On November 25, several individuals were attacked during a protest in Shahbagh, organized against the arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das, spokesperson of the Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote and former ISKCON leader. Among the injured was lawyer Ramendra Nath Roy, also known as Ramen Roy, who sustained severe injuries and remains under treatment in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a hospital in Dhaka at the time of this report. Following the attack, various claims about him began to circulate on social media and in local and foreign media outlets. Social media posts and several Indian news outlets incorrectly identified Ramendra Nath Roy as the lawyer of Chinmoy Krishna Das and alleged that his home had been attacked. Meanwhile, a Bangladeshi news outlet falsely identified an image of the injured lawyer as Radha Raman Roy, an advocate from Bihar, India. To verify these claims, Dismislab spoke with Ramen Roy’s family members at the hospital. They confirmed that the widespread allegations about him are false.
On December 2, Radharamn Das, Vice President and spokesperson of ISKCON Kolkata, posted on his X account: “Please pray for Advocate Ramen Roy. His only ‘fault’ was defending Chinmoy Krishna Prabhu in court. Islamists ransacked his home and brutally attacked him, leaving him in the ICU, fighting for his life.” The post included an image of a hospitalized individual. Following this post, several Indian media outlets began reporting similar claims.
The headline of a report by India Today states, “Lawyer defending arrested Hindu monk attacked in Bangladesh: Iskcon.” Similarly, The Times of India claims, “Advocate Ramen Roy, representing Bangladeshi Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Prabhu, has been brutally attacked in Bangladesh, likely due to his legal defence of Prabhu.” Following these reports, outlets like Business Standard, Live Mint, The Hindu, News18, Deccan Herald, Siasat, and Indian Express published similar stories, all referring to the lawyer as “Ramen Roy.” On December 3, ISKCON Kolkata spokesperson Radharamn Das added a follow-up post under his earlier one: “He was attacked on 25th November 2024 in Dhaka during a rally. Since then he is in ICU. He is one of the supporters Lawyer of Chinmoy Krishna Das.”
To verify the claims, Dismislab initially searched the member directories of the Chittagong District Bar Association, Dhaka Bar Association, and the Bangladesh Supreme Court Bar Association, but did not find any lawyer named Ramen Roy. A keyword search led to a Facebook post identifying the injured lawyer as Ramendra Nath Roy. Additionally, a statement by the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council caught the eye of Dismislab. The statement referenced Ramendra Nath Roy by name. The statement was issued in the context of demands for the arrest of those responsible for the murder of Chattogram-based lawyer Saiful Islam Alif. It further stated: “The council also strongly condemns and protests the grievous injury inflicted on Supreme Court Bar Association member Advocate Ramendra Nath Roy during an unprovoked attack by miscreants at the Shahbagh sit-in protest on November 25, 2024, held in response to the arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das at Dhaka Airport. The council urges the government to ensure his proper medical treatment, as Advocate Roy is currently battling for his life at Labaid Hospital in Dhaka.” From these findings, it is clear that the injured lawyer’s correct name is Ramendra Nath Roy. However, in social media posts by his acquaintances, he has also been referred to as Ramen Roy (1, 2).
Dismislab reached out to the family of Ramendra Nath Roy to verify the claims made in ISKCON Kolkata spokesperson Radharamn Das’s post. His wife, Sagarika Roy, denied the assertion, stating that her husband was not the lawyer representing Chinmoy Krishna Das. This clarification aligns with a report published by The Business Standard. According to the report, Prosenjit Kumar Halder, a key organizer of the Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, confirmed that Roy was injured on the evening of November 25, shortly after Chinmoy’s arrest, at a time when no legal proceedings had begun. Halder also noted that Chinmoy was presented in Chattogram court the next day, while Roy practices law in Dhaka. Sagarika Roy’s statement corroborates Halder’s account, confirming that Ramendra Nath Roy was not involved as Chinmoy Krishna Das’s lawyer. Additionally, Roy’s wife clarified to Dismislab that no attack occurred at their home.
On the other hand, some Facebook posts (1, 2), allegedly citing Channel 24, claimed that the lawyer named Ramen Roy was not Bangladeshi but an Indian advocate.
A video report by the Bangladeshi media outlet Channel 24 was discovered through a search. The report was titled “Extreme falsehood by Indian media about Chinmoy Das’s lawyer.” At 1 minute and 34 seconds into the report, it stated:, “Online sources suggest that the lawyer whose photo is being circulated as Ramen Roy is not Bangladeshi but a lawyer from Patna, Bihar, India.” However, verification by Dismislab reveals that Bangladeshi media outlets. In a report published on November 25, Dhaka Tribune stated, “Miscreants attacked a sit-in protest at Shahbag against the arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, principal of Chattogram’s Pundarik Dham and spokesperson of the Bangladesh Sanatan Jagaran Mancha. In the attack, a person named Ramen Roy (50) was severely injured.” Reports by Daily Inqilab and Dhaka Post also mention Ramen Roy’s name.
For further verification, Dismislab talked with Ramen Roy’s wife, Sagarika Roy. Upon being shown the photo circulating on social and traditional media, she confirmed that the image is indeed of her husband and that Ramen Roy is a Bangladeshi citizen, practicing law in Dhaka. This firmly refutes the claim that Ramen Roy is an Indian lawyer from Patna, Bihar. It is worth noting that the Channel 24 report could no longer be found on their Facebook page.
