DHAKA: The Bangladesh High Court on Sunday rejected the bail plea of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das as he stands trial in a lower court over the killing of a lawyer during clashes in Chittagong in 2024 after he was denied bail in a sedition case.A two-judge bench of Justices KM Zahid Sarwar and Sheikh Abu Taher has fixed Monday for hearing bail pleas in four other cases against the monk, Das’s lawyer Apurba Kumar Bhattacharya told reporters. “The HC rejected our bail plea because the recording of testimony of witnesses is going on in the trial (lower) court in Chittagong,” Bhattacharya said.Prosecutors had earlier said 39 people were charged with the murder of junior government prosecutor Saiful Islam Alif, while 23, including Das, were in personal custody pending trial and the remaining 16 were at large. Das’s lawyer sought bail saying the monk was in jail due to illness for a long time.On April 30 last year, the HC had granted him bail in the sedition case – allegedly insulting the national flag of Bangladesh – but the top appellate division of the Supreme Court later stayed the bail order.
