Former ISKCON leader arrested: False claims in local and foreign media
On Monday afternoon, November 25, Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, spokesperson of the Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagaran Jote and former leader of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), was arrested in Dhaka’s airport area. On November 26, he was presented before a Chattogram (also known as Chittagong) court in a sedition case, where his bail application was denied. During this time, his followers protested near the court, leading to a clash. Amid the conflict, several individuals, including a lawyer named Saiful Islam Alif, were attacked with sharp weapons on the access road to the District Commissioner’s office and the court.
Saiful Islam Alif was taken to the hospital in critical condition, where the attending physician declared him dead. Following the murder, discussions arose on social media and in the mainstream media, leading to the spread of various claims. Indian media outlets reported that Saiful Islam Alif was an attorney representing Chinmoy Krishna Das, while Bangladeshi media claimed he was a public prosecutor. However, verification reveals that Saiful Islam Alif was neither a lawyer for Chinmoy Krishna Das nor for the state.
Incorrect Claims in Local Media
Several Bangladeshi media outlets identified Saiful Islam Alif as an Assistant Public Prosecutor (APP). Reports from Jugantar, Ajker Patrika, Prothom Alo, Bangla Tribune, DBC News, RTV, Samakal, Dhaka Post stated that Saiful Islam Alif was either an Assistant Public Prosecutor or an Assistant Government Counsel. Similarly, video reports from Daily Jaijaidin এবং Channel 24 on YouTube also echoed this claim. Some reports mentioned that he had been appointed as an APP just one month prior.
However, a report by Kaler Kantho quoted Mohammad Ashraf Hossain Chy (Razzaque), the Public Prosecutor of Chattogram District Judge Court and General Secretary of the District Bar Association, saying: “He was a regular lawyer of the Chattogram Bar and had been in the profession for five or six years. He has been practicing in Chattogram since 2018 and obtained his High Court Bar license last year. While some media initially referred to him as an assistant public prosecutor, he was not a state law officer.”
To verify these claims, Dismislab contacted Md. Nazim Uddin Chowdhury, President of the Chattogram District Bar Association, who confirmed that Saiful Islam Alif was not an APP. He was a general practitioner at the Chattogram District Court.
Additionally, Dismislab reached out to Md. Mofizul Hoque Bhuiyan, the Public Prosecutor of the Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court, who confirmed that Saiful Islam Alif was not a Public Prosecutor. However, he noted that there is an APP at the Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court with a similar name: Saiful Islam Chowdhury, son of Yusuf Chowdhury. On the other hand, news reports indicate that the father of the deceased Saiful Islam Alif was Jamal Uddin.
Furthermore, Dismislab contacted Ummul Hayat Api, a friend of Saiful Islam Alif and a lawyer at the Chattogram District Court. Api also confirmed that Saiful Islam Alif was not an APP.
In October of this year, the Solicitor Wing published a list of legal officers appointed to the Chattogram District and Sessions Judge Court, Chattogram Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court, their subordinate courts, the Divisional Special Judge Court, and various tribunals. The list, signed by Deputy Solicitor Sana Md. Mahroof Hossain on October 16, does not include the name of Saiful Islam Alif. Public Prosecutor Md. Mofizul Hoque Bhuiyan also confirmed that no new list has been issued since then.
However, the list includes two legal officers named Saiful appointed as Assistant Public Prosecutors (APPs). One is Saiful Islam Chowdhury, son of Yusuf Chowdhury, serving in the Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court, and the other is Saiful Alam, son of Shamsul Alam, serving in the District and Sessions Judge Court. Dismislab contacted both individuals, and it was confirmed that neither is related to the deceased Saiful Islam Alif.
Additionally, the Chief Advisor’s Press Secretary, Shafiqul Alam, stated in an official Facebook post: “We spoke to half a dozen lawyers in Chittagong including Public Prosecutors to get confirmation that he was not a lawyer of Mr Das. We got a list of PPs and APPs. His name wasn’t there.”
Despite this, some social media posts (1, 2) shared images of banners from protest rallies that identified Saiful Islam Alif as an Assistant Public Prosecutor in Chattogram courts.
This misinformation also appeared in various fact-checking reports, as certain Bangladeshi fact-checking organizations (1, 2, 3, 4) included the incorrect claim in their analyses. However, Indian fact-checking organizations Boom India and Alt News consulted Chattogram District Bar Association President Nazim Uddin Chowdhury and General Secretary Mohammad Ashraf Hossain Chowdhury Razzak. Both confirmed to these organizations that Saiful Islam Alif was not an APP in any court in Chattogram.
Misinformation in Foreign Media
On Monday, November 26, at 12:36 PM, Indian screenwriter and columnist Advaita Kala posted on X (formerly Twitter): “Shocking – lawyer defending Chinmaya Prabhu killed in Bangladesh. Hindus not safe in Bangladesh and those who defend them aren’t safe either. India is the only safe place for Hindus in the subcontinent.” An account named Voice of Bangladeshi Hindus claimed: “Saiful Islam Alif, a Muslim lawyer who came to defend Chinmay Krishna Prabhu, was killed by Jamaat-e-Islami leaders.” Additionally, another account named Megh Updates shared a video by Republic TV with similar claims.
Shortly after Advaita Kala’s post, Republic TV’s official X account shared a video with the caption: “Muslim lawyer defending ISKON’s Chinmoy Krishna Das killed.” Later, Republic TV published a news report stating, “Hindu Priest Chinmoy Krishna Das’ lawyer Saiful Islam Alif has been killed in police firing outside Bangladeshi’s Chittagong Court.” This video and claim were subsequently used in a report by the Indian right-wing media outlet OpIndia.
Reuters also published a report with false claim on the incident, titled: “One killed in Bangladesh as Hindu protesters clash with police”. The report stated, “‘A Muslim lawyer defending Das was killed amid protests outside the court (in Chittagong), said police officer Liaquat Ali.” This quote was later repeated in reports by LiveMint, The Indian Express, The Print, Hindustan Times, Voice of America, and Arab News. The original source of the quote appears to be the Reuters report itself. While Reuters has since issued at least two corrections to its story, several other outlets still include the disputed quote.
The Chattogram Metropolitan Police issued a press release refuting the statement attributed to Liaquat Ali in Reuters’ report. The release stated: “Reuters or any journalist did not speak with Deputy Police Commissioner (South) Liaquat Ali Khan regarding this matter. During the incident, he was on duty managing law and order around the court premises. Four constables named Liaquat are stationed in Chattogram; none of them provided any statements. Publishing fabricated statements attributed to an on-duty police officer without proper verification violates journalistic ethics.”
It is further verified that Saiful Islam Alif was a practicing lawyer in Chattogram courts but was not an advocate representing Chinmoy Krishna Das. Court records show that Chinmoy Krishna Das’s lawyer is Advocate Subhashish Sharma.Another claim related to the incident has surfaced on social media. A user named Dalton Souvato Heera alleged in a post that ten members of the Hindu community have gone missing. However, he did not provide any source or evidence to support this claim. In the post’s comments section, he shared a link mentioning the disappearance of someone named Partha Chakraborty. However, the link is no longer functional. Moreover, in response to another user’s comment, he replied that the mentioned missing individual had been found. Dalton Souvato Heera has previously faced allegations of spreading communal misinformation. A report by Boom Bangladesh in October 2021 documented instances of him disseminating false information during a period of communal unrest.
