Published : 10 Sep 2026, 08:59 PM
Updated : 16 Sep 2026, 11:49 AM
Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, spokesperson for the Sammilito Sanatani Jagaran Jote, has been granted five hours' parole to attend his mother's funeral following her death.
The parole application submitted by his family was approved around 2:30pm on Thursday, Chattogram Additional District Magistrate Syed Mahbubul Haque told bdnews24.com.
"The district commissioner has approved Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari's parole application following the family's request. He has been granted parole for five hours," he said.
"He will be taken back to Chattogram Central Jail after attending his mother's funeral."
Swatantra Gauranga Das Brahmachari, vice-president of ISKCON's Prabartak Sri Krishna Temple, confirmed the decision.
"The application has been approved. He will be released for five hours. He will have to travel to Hathazari, attend his mother's funeral and return within that period," he told bdnews24.com.
Chinmoy's mother Shondha Rani Dhar died around 9:30am on Thursday at Pundarik Dham in Mekhal Union of Hathazari Upazila. Her funeral will be held there in accordance with her last wishes.
Shondha, who had been suffering from cancer and other illnesses, had been receiving treatment in hospital for nearly two months. At her request, she was taken from the hospital to Pundarik Dham on Tuesday, Chinmoy's elder brother Ranjan Dhar had said.
The family had sought parole on Wednesday so that Chinmoy could see his mother one last time.
At the time, the additional district magistrate said there was no legal provision to grant parole to visit an ill relative, but such an opportunity was available following a relative's death.
Chattogram Additional Superintendent of Police Kazi Md Tarek Aziz had said action would be taken if an order was issued to release Chinmoy on parole.
Chinmoy, whose family name is Chandan Kumar Dhar, is the youngest of three brothers and one sister. He took the name Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari after receiving religious initiation.
He is the principal of Pundarik Dham in Hathazari and emerged as a spokesperson for the Sanatani community after the fall of the Awami League government on Aug 5, 2024, speaking in support of an eight-point set of demands over attacks on minorities across the country.
A sedition case was filed against him at Chattogram's Kotwali Police Station in October 2024 over allegations of insulting the national flag. He was arrested at Dhaka's Shahjalal International Airport on Nov 25.
The following day, after a court rejected his bail and ordered him sent to jail, his supporters surrounded his prison van at the Chattogram court premises.
Police dispersed them with sound grenades after about two and a half hours and took Chinmoy to jail.
The protesters vandalised several motorcycles and other vehicles parked along the court road.
Lawyers and court employees then chased them. During the ensuing clashes, lawyer Saiful Islam Alif was hacked and beaten to death on Rangam Convention Hall Road.
Although Chinmoy was not named in the case filed by Alif's father, police named him as the prime suspect in their investigation report.
Eight cases are currently pending against Chinmoy, including the Alif murder case, which is being tried by the Chattogram Divisional Speedy Trial Tribunal.
The High Court has granted him bail in four cases, but he remains in jail because of arrests in the other cases.
