The city chapter of ISKCON and some members of the legal community here on Thursday promised to extend all possible support to Rabindra Ghosh, a Bangladeshi lawyer, who came under verbal and physical attack from Islamists last month for turning up at the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court in Chittagong to move a bail petition for Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das.

Septuagenarian Ghosh, now in India, reaffirmed his commitment to represent the arrested Chinmoy Krishna, a spokesperson for the Sanatan Jagran Mancha in Bangladesh.

The monk was arrested by the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government in November on sedition charges for allegedly hoisting a saffron flag atop the Bangladeshi national flag.

Radharaman Das, vice-president and spokesperson of ISKCON Calcutta, said: “Rabindra Ghosh is a braveheart lawyer and is fighting strongly. If needed, we will be by his side.”

The ISKCON spokesperson, however, did not specify how the organisation will stand by Ghosh in his legal battle.

Ghosh, who has been recuperating at a relative’s house in Barrackpore following surgery, has drawn visitors from the saffron ecosystem since his arrival to India earlier this month.

On Thursday, Radharaman visited him in Barrackpore and then personally drove him to ISKCON’s Albert Road temple in Calcutta, where the lawyer received a warm welcome.

“He is a brave person. I received a call from him yesterday (Wednesday) as he expressed his desire to visit the temple and get prasad. His brave fight at his age has earned him tremendous respect worldwide. I met him at Barrackpore and took him directly to the Albert Road temple,” Radharaman told this newspaper.

At the temple, Ghosh had prasad and then engaged in a freewheeling discussion with ISKCON monks, before heading for a meeting with some prominent members of the city’s legal community.

Ghosh, who chairs Bangladesh Minority Watch and practises at the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, hit the headlines after he flew down to Chittagong from Dhaka to move Chinmoy Krishna’s bail plea at a time when a local lawyers’ body had, in a diktat, banned any local lawyer from appearing for the monk.

His attempt drew a blank as he was attacked on the first day he reached court. He could not move the bail plea the next day due to technicalities, prompting an extension of the monk’s prison term till January 2, when the case is upfor hearing.

“They tried to kill me,” Ghosh recounted. “But as a Muktijoddha (warrior in the Bangladesh liberation war), I am undeterred. I will continue with my fight, even if it costs me my life.”

He added he would return to Bangladesh to defend Chinmoy Krishna in Chittagong court on January 2.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Ghosh said he was “moved” by the support of Bengal’s legal fraternity.

He added: “Getting justice has become difficult in Bangladesh.... But if there is even a small chance, I will get him (Chinmoy Krishna) released from jail.”