Chittagong court records third confession in lawyer Saiful murder case

Ripon Das, one of the accused in the murder case of lawyer Saiful Islam Alif, has made a confessional statement before a court in Chittagong. A total of three accused in the Alif murder case gave a confessional statement.

“The statement was taken on Saturday evening in the court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sarkar Hasan Shahriar,” said Mahfuzur Rahman, the case's investigation officer and Assistant Commissioner of Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) Kotwali zone.  

Mahfuzur Rahman said that Ripon Das confessed following remand interrogation, delivering his statement in the judge's private chambers. In his confession, Ripon admitted that he stabbed lawyer Alif with a banti, a household knife, on the day of the incident.

Additionally, Chandan Das and Rajib Bhattacharya attacked Alif with a kirich. Ripon also revealed that he had raised slogans on the court premises demanding the release of Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote spokesperson Chinmoy Krishna Das.

Later, when Chinmoy was taken to jail, Ripon headed to the Sebak Colony area, where lawyer Saiful Islam Alif was brutally hacked and beaten to death. He further confessed to knowing 10 to 12 individuals who participated in the murder.

Following his confession, the court ordered Ripon to be sent to jail. Earlier, two other accused in the case Chandan Das and Rajib Bhattacharya gave their confessional statements on last Monday and Friday, respectively.  

The murder took place on November 26 during a clash at the near the Chittagong court premises over the rejection of bail for Chinmoy Krishna Das, who had been arrested in a sedition case.

During the clash, lawyer Alif was beaten and hacked. So far, police have arrested 40 individuals in connection with six cases filed over the incident. Among them, 10 individuals have been arrested on charges of involvement in the murder.