Ctg lawyer murder: Cops identify 8-10 attackers

Police have identified 8 to 10 people who hacked lawyer Saiful Islam Alif to death on Tuesday when followers of Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari clashed with police and lawyers on the Chattogram court premises.
Scrutinising CCTV footage of the murder scene, the police learnt that 30 to 35 people gathered on the spot and some 10 of them attacked Saiful, police said.
Of the attackers, five were wielding sharp weapons and three were wearing helmets.
Police on Wednesday filed three cases against 79 named and 1,400 unnamed people in connection with assault, vandalism, and obstructing police in discharging their duties on that day.
However, a murder case was yet to be filed.
Police arrested seven more people yesterday in connection with the violence between followers of Chinmoy, former ISKCON leader and also spokesperson for Sammilita Sanatani Jagaran Jote, and law enforcers and lawyers on Tuesday.
The arrestees are Rajib Bhattacharya alias Sumon, Bobi Chowdhury, Abdul Kaium, Kowshik Chowdhury, Abir Dey, Robin Das, and Jewel Das, said police.
With these seven, 34 people, including seven murder suspects, have been arrested, according to police.
Officer-in-Charge Fazlul Kader Chowdhury of Kotwali Police Station said, “We have scrutinised the CCTV footage of the area and found 8 to 10 who took part in the killing. Of them, four to five were seen hacking the lawyer.
“We got some names and are trying to arrest them.”
OC Fazlul was transferred last night.
Several police officers told this paper that they have identified 8-10 suspects from footage.
Meanwhile, Shuvo Kanti Das, a fourth semester student of LLB at the BGC Trust University, was expelled yesterday after alleged evidence of his  involvement in the murder surfaced.
BGC Trust University’s Deputy Registrar Salauddin Shahareir told The Daily Star, “Soon after photos [allegedly of the murder incident] went viral on the social media, his classmates and other students identified him in the photo. The university made the decision based on students’ information and evidence.
“The university did not launch any investigations on its own in this matter,” he said.
The Daily Star could not verify the authenticity of the photos in question.
LAWYERS ON STRIKE

Members of Chattogram District Bar Association refrained from attending court proceedings for the second day yesterday, protesting the murder of Saiful and demanding arrest of his killers.
All proceedings at the 74 courtrooms in Chattogram were suspended due to the strike. Wearing black badges, lawyers demonstrated in the court building area since yesterday morning.
Some former students of International Islamic University Chittagong, Premier University, and Chattogram Law College, who practise law at the courts, also took part in the protest under separate banners.
Addressing the programme, CDBA President Najim Uddin Chowdhury alleged that police failed to control the situation despite having proper support. He came down heavily on the CMP commissioner’s role.
“On Tuesday, when the Chinmoy supporters were not letting the prison van move, there was a huge deployment of police, army, and BGB personnel in front of district administration office. Why didn’t you call them?” he asked.
“We want to know from the CMP commissioner how Chinmoy got a megaphone inside the prison van … ,” said Najim.
He urged the lawyers not to represent those accused of Saiful’s murder.
Meanwhile, deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina in a statement has condemned the killing of Saiful and demanded punishment to the culprits. She also slammed the arrest of a top leader of the Sanatani community and demanded his immediate release, read a post on the official Facebook page of the Awami League.